Of Heroes and Love
by Ailec-12
Summary: Redemption requires two things: someone willing to try and someone willing to patiently support the other. Regina hasn't got much patience; Zelena is everything but willing. Canon divergence from 3x20 on. Some Regal Believer, and also bits of Outlaw Queen, Tink and Snow.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own _Once Upon a Time_.**

 **To my friend Marytta, who made me believe I could write fanfiction and is the cause of this fic in particular —and gives me drawings so I never run short of them when I publish stories, here or in any other place. And to my real little sister, who puts up with me and my ramblings about sibling stories.**

* * *

 **Prologue**

"If I were you, I'd consider creating a new destiny. Because if you don't, I'll be right there to take your heart and crush it. Now, if you'll excuse me... I should put this somewhere safe."

Zelena scoffed rather aloofly. For being good, her sister did make some serious threats. She knew the reason: the former Queen was inherently evil, the villain of her story. Zelena knew better than anyone that you could never escape your fate. Their roles were already written and now the Wicked Witch had really learnt that you cannot change the history. That you...

The click of Regina's heels against the floor had stopped — and it was that silence what put Zelena out of her thoughts. The brunette stood in front of the door, without crossing it. She made a move, like if she was going to turn around, but in the end she didn't.

"They say that... it's nice to have family in town."

And with that, Regina finally went out of the sheriff's station.

Zelena scoffed louder that time —she needed something behind which she could hide her surprise. Her sister would learn the lesson eventually, too, of that she was sure. She would probably not be around to see it, though. What a pity.

* * *

When Rumplestiltskin saw Belle, completely in white and more lovely than he could ever have dreamt of, he knew he had made the right choice, and hoped that she was all the strength he needed.

Rumplestiltskin was a coward and thus, he was afraid of many things. But having lost his free will had been terrifying. He spent every moment of his captivity swearing he would get his revenge on Zelena. When Baelfire died, that promise became an oath.

But then —as always—, Belle had come in and managed to shock every fibre of his being when she showed him the dagger. And the only thing that she had asked in return was that he chose her over darkness. That he didn't go after Zelena. He didn't know if he could, but he was determined to try. The only thing truly unbearable was Belle leaving him. He wanted to be with her, always.

She had said yes and then, there they were. She was shining, a light — _his_ light— standing out in the dark forest. She had always shone, brighter than any flame, than any human. She was beautiful, but it was her words and actions what had made him fall in love with her deeper and deeper. Her voice broke remembering all those times they had been separated, all those times when their love had just not been enough, and he swore to himself that he would try everything in his power so she didn't have to go through any of that ever again.

"And I vow to you I will never forget the distance between what I was and what I am." He didn't know if he could make good on his promise, but he would prefer to suffer a thousand of deaths before subjecting Belle to any more affliction for his own selfishness.

She always knew what to reply.

"Sometimes, the best book has the dustiest jacket. And sometimes, the best teacup is chipped."

* * *

 **A/N: I started to write this fic long before we learned Zelena was still alive. However, as the canon didn't show what I wished to see (and for heaven's sake, I just want them to explore the family relationships on the show), I kept writing. I've tried my best to keep everyone in character and I've enjoyed writing the Mills sisters _a lot_. I sincerely hope you enjoy reading as much as I did writing. :)  
**

 **I look forward to knowing what you think. All opinions are most welcome!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

The first night was cold. Not that cold was a foreign element to Zelena. Back in Oz, she would feel a chill that gnawed at her bones every time her father scolded her. Her mother had been warm, like a spring breeze, but also like spring, that time of her life had been short-lived, albeit bright. She would feel cold whenever she beheld Regina and thought of how Cora had abandoned her. She would feel cold when none of her supposed Oz sisters would notice her absence because they had Dorothy. She would feel cold every time the world showed her that she was not good enough.

Now, she had failed. And yet, a new day was going to greet her. She had always thought the price of failure would be death, but even in that it seemed she was wrong. She didn't know why Regina kept her there, although she guessed her death would come sooner or later.

With those questions stuck in her head, she stayed awake all night —thinking of her life and the people who had intervened in it. Wrapped up in a grey blanket, with the chill firmly settled in her bones.

* * *

As Regina watched Henry eating his breakfast, she kept reminding herself that it was no dream. She and her son were actually sharing a breakfast like nothing else in the world mattered.

The previous night had been perfect. She and Robin had a date, an absolutely ideal date. She knew she loved him. And he, in spite of having seen her at her worst —or almost, during the year in the Enchanted Forest—, loved her back. His eyes told her so every time she looked into them.

They talked and opened themselves in a way neither of them had done for a very long time. Regina even dared address the current hot topic at hand: her sister. It amazed her how quickly Robin understood she was unwilling to let any harm come to Zelena. The witch had put Roland in danger, as well as Henry, Regina and the rest of the town. Yet, the former outlaw had nodded understandingly when she had whispered that Zelena was her last blood relative alive and that, in a way, reminded her of herself. Robin said she needed to be careful and to remember that one could only help those who wanted to be helped, but he also insisted on her knowing that she had his support and that she was definitely not alone. He looked so proud and so in love when she confessed that she didn't want Zelena to keep feeling as alone in the world as she had felt once that she nearly burst into tears.

After spending all their time talking and kissing, they had gone out to pick Roland up before going to Granny's. It had been a celebration she had truly enjoyed, where not even Snow and Charming's excessive cheerfulness could irritate her —although of course Regina would never admit it. And to put the cherry on top, Henry had come to home to sleep there that night.

"Mom?"

She had been so distracted by her thoughts that only for his tone she knew that her little prince had been trying to reach her for a while.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"Are you okay?"

"Of course, Henry."

"Are you sure? You seem upset," he said as he scrunched up his nose. "You know I won't go away, right? My family is here and I'll try to convince Emma to stay because she's part of the family, too. But I won't leave you in any case. Never again."

"Oh, Henry." It was all that Regina could say before engulfing him in a strong embrace. She closed her eyes to hold back the tears that suddenly threatened with escaping. "Thank you, honey. And I will never leave you again either, I promise. But no, I'm not upset. I'm only a bit concerned about Zelena."

"Zelena? Why?" he asked as he stepped away from the hug in order to be able to look his mom in the eye.

She had to smile at the protectiveness in her son's voice. Then, she let out a sad sigh before answering.

"She can't stay in that cell forever, Henry. The sheriff's station isn't set up for it. I intend to talk with Snow, David and Emma to find another solution."

"And... What do you want to do?" asked Henry, a bit pensively.

"What do you mean?"

"I know you, mom. You already have a solution."

There, Regina hesitated. She still had not figured out completely how to present the matter to the Charmings. She had even less idea about how Henry would react to her plan. But she needed to be sincere with him. She had lied to him too many times in the past, and besides, that was his home as well. He had to be all right with her idea for it to take place.

"I... I want to bring Zelena here if you're okay with it, sweetheart. She would still be under arrest and I'd put the necessary measures in place to guarantee our safety —especially yours."

Suddenly, Regina was afraid of having broken Henry's trust somehow, or having let him down. However, her son just looked at her thoughtfully, considering the options.

"I don't know if I like it," he answered truthfully.

"It's okay, Henry. It really is. We'll come up with another thing."

"I haven't said 'no' yet, mom. Just let me think about it."

"Of course, honey. I just don't want you to feel obligated to take any decision you don't want to, all right?"

"All right, mom," he said, smiling.

The rest of breakfast went on without any more talking about heavy topics. When it was finished, Regina got up and started washing the dishes.

"Henry," she called, "I'm going to Snow's apartment. Do you want to come?"

"Sure."

Just the boy's happiness for his new family dynamic was worth it. They drove to Snow's, where they were greeted at the door by David. Henry immediately asked where baby Neal was and then, ran upstairs to Emma's room where both siblings were spending some time together.

"Hi, Regina!"

The earnestness in Snow's voice still managed to catch the former Queen by surprise.

"Hi, Snow," she replied, pretending to be annoyed at the younger woman's effusiveness.

She let David accompany her to the kitchen island. There were two mugs on the table and, a few seconds later, a third mug was set in front of her. Regina thanked David as Snow smiled at the interaction.

"Is something the matter, Regina? You seem worried."

As much as Snow loved having Regina over now, she knew her well enough to know she would not be there so early without a reason.

"Since when can people read me so easily?" Regina grumbled.

Snow only lifted her eyebrows and waited for a real answer, making the other woman sigh but reply all the same.

"I was just thinking... The sheriff's station isn't fit to live in forever. We can't just throw Zelena in there and forget the key."

Regina tried to give her words a confidence she didn't felt. In fact, she felt very insecure every time she spoke about her sister without homicidal intentions.

"Yes. I'd know about that, wouldn't I?" retorted Snow smirking.

"Uh?"

"I know at first hand the station isn't thought for a long stay."

Catching the meaning of Snow's words at once, Regina found herself at a loss for several seconds.

"Oh." She ran her tongue over her lips briefly. "Yeah. I suppose you do."

Snow didn't seem really upset, but even so Regina remained silent after that, incapable of deciding what else she should say. Thankfully, David intervened, breaking any tension that might have built.

"So, what do you suggest we do?"

She cleared her throat before speaking, trying to put some order into her thoughts.

"I'd thought of my home —house arrest—, but only if Henry was fine with it. And he doesn't still know whether he is or not. So, the only other place I can think of is the psychiatric ward."

"I don't know, Regina," said David frowning —disapproval was evident in his voice. "She's dangerous and still, you want her to live with you and Henry."

"She just needs a second chance, Charming," she snapped.

"We are your family, Regina, and you have our support no matter what," Snow cut in. "But Zelena almost killed Neal yesterday. You must understand we don't like the idea of her escaping or hurting anyone else. We're just worried."

The former mayor sighed again and put a hand over her eyes for a second.

"I know," she said, looking at them. "But I really believe that, if I can change, she can, too. She only needs someone who believes in her." She looked Snow in the eye there, and the words 'like you believed in me' were left unsaid.

"All right. I don't want her anywhere near Neal right now, and I really want you to be cautious. Still, I understand you and this family will always support each other. Right, Charming?"

"Do I have another option?" he said, half joking.

"As long as you don't make of that a new catchphrase," Regina agreed in return with a little smile.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks to Dory and the guest for their reviews. I'm glad you're enjoying it. :)**

 **Let me know what you think!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Emma had not been so easy to convince. Even though Regina could relate to her lack of trust, it didn't stop her from being irritated. In the end, the saviour had agreed under the condition of Zelena never leaving the house and Regina putting up some magic barriers around the place. The brunette had already thought of doing that, so it was no trouble.

The true issue was Henry. Emma did not want to allow him to stay in Regina's house if Zelena was there too —which seemed like an eventual fact since Henry had said he trusted his mom and what she was doing. Regina did not want to put Henry in any sort of danger either, but living apart again was not even a possibility. Besides, she had no doubts about being able to contain her sister. Thus, both women had to put into practice some of that faith that ran in Henry and Snow's blood. Wasting no time, they went to Regina's house, where they made the protection spells together.

They said goodbye and Henry walked with the Charmings back to the apartment —for all the adults had agreed it would be better if it was only she and Zelena on the first day. Regina went to the station, bringing along lunch for the prisoner. She was trying her best to stay calm, because she had already hesitated picking the food and that had soured her mood further. She needed to appear as unflappable —even disinterested— as possible to talk with her sister.

Her sister. What a weird thought that was. She had been alone for so long... And suddenly, she had Henry, the Charmings and Emma on her side. Even Robin and Roland. She may not have had the best luck ever with her blood relatives, but she did have a family. With those thoughts warming her, she pushed the last door open.

The infamous Witch of the West was sitting with her feet tucked under her body, almost in the same position that Regina had left her the previous night. She barely looked at Regina when she entered. And yet, of course she had to be the first one talking.

"Why, good afternoon, dear sis. Are you going to make a habit of paying me a visit every day?"

Regina only regarded her for a moment before answering.

"Good afternoon, Zelena. I brought you lunch. And some news."

"Oh?"

It was probably the most heated contest of indifference that Storybrooke had ever lived. Regina came closer and that illusion of indifference was shattered —her steps reminded of those of a predator stalking her prey.

"Yes," said Regina as she handled out the food. To her surprise, the witch took it without any fight.

After a moment of indecision, she preferred to remain standing. Meanwhile, Zelena peeked inside the bag. Even though the lunch was wrapped up and she couldn't see what she had been brought, she made no move to take anything.

"The sheriff and I," Regina started, keeping vague who else made the decision on purpose —Zelena didn't need to know she had consulted every member of her family, "have decided it's better if you take your imprisonment at my house."

Surprise on Zelena's face appeared so clearly written then that, in return, it shocked Regina.

"I'm... I'm sorry?"

"Yes, I'm sure you're sorry you got yourself caught. However, it matters not. You're still living at my house."

"Why, Regina?" She sounded disdainful, like when she had questioned why Regina would give her another chance. The brunette wanted to believe that it was only a well perfected mask. "I haven't taken that second chance yet. And you don't know if I ever will."

The reply came swiftly and in a gentle voice —the sort of voice that someone would use to explain something extraordinary but essential to a very ignorant child.

"When someone gives you another chance, Zelena, you can't expect to drive them away just by refusing it. Believe me, I know at first hand," Regina added smirking.

"So now, what? You want me to agree with you and live happily ever after imprisoned in your house?"

"Dear, I don't think it'll do you any good to be sassy with me. Don't get into fights you can't win."

Regina closed the distance between her and the cell with two resolute steps and opened the door with the key that Emma had given to her. She would rather not use magic in front of the other woman. Perhaps it was for consideration, or maybe because, for a while now, she had been trying not to rely on it too much.

"Come on. You really don't want me to drag you."

Zelena had become very still and for several long seconds she just stood there, warily eyeing Regina. At last, she seemed to reach the conclusion that there was nothing she could do. At that moment, it was very easy to read her. She was the Evil Queen's prisoner. She had failed. And the consequences could not be pretty. The only thing left to do was to put on a good face and demonstrate the brunette she was not afraid.

The car ride was an uncomfortable one, filled with an extremely awkward silence. Yet, every time Regina thought she was going to regret her decision, she glanced sideways at the red-haired woman. She was particularly good at reading people, but almost anyone could have seen that her sister was scared. Regina had been scared, too, every time Snow looked at her with eyes filled with hope affirming she believed in her —especially, during the not-so-forgotten-anymore months in the Enchanted Forest. It was terrifying to see someone believing so deeply you could do better when you were sure you would fail the next step.

Zelena stayed quiet while Regina showed her the main parts of her home. Finally, they went upstairs and the brunette led her to what was going to be her room from then on. The redhead took a good look at it, surely as she reminded herself that a cage was still a cage even with golden bars. Still, a flick of surprise crossed her eyes —she must have convinced herself that Regina would lock her up in the basement or something similar.

"I hope it's to your liking, _sis_ ," the former Queen said, in a voice not quite sincere and yet, not entirely sarcastic either.

"I don't suppose I've got much choice."

"I guess you haven't."

Regina would be lying to herself if she said she was not enjoying herself the tiniest bit. Still, she decided to save some confrontation for later. She opened the wardrobe to show the new resident her current clothing. She briefly explained she hadn't had much time to pick up her old clothes at the farmhouse, so she had resolved to give her some more. The only response she got was a snarl. Thus, Regina decided to leave it alone and put an end to their talk.

"Do you want me to reheat that food?"

"Uh?"

During the whole ride, she had noticed that Zelena had grabbed the bag with the untouched food tightly. She tried not to overanalyse it —both of them had already a lot to think about.

"No, it... it is fine," the redhead reacted at last.

"You sure? Because you don't even know what's in there."

Zelena threw her a glare. Then, she sat on the bed mustering as much dignity as she was able to in her situation.

"Don't dare think you hold any power over me," she growled. "I won't be the goodies' new pet."

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for the review and all the favourites and follows! Finally we get some more action between the Mills sisters. Hope you enjoy. Let me know what you think! :)**


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Regina had left the room sighing internally and had not seen her sister all day. She had been talking on the phone with Henry and then, Robin had stopped by to see how she was doing. Regina wasn't still at ease around the powerless witch and didn't let him stay very long. The thief left with a kiss, a smile and a promise that he would come to see her again the next day. His open love amazed her and made her want to hug him and never let him go. However, she would always put her loved ones' safety first.

By dinner time, she was trying to read and not to think about anything else. A little reluctantly, she finally got up after attempting to read the same page for twenty minutes. While some leftovers were heating, she went upstairs to let her sister know the time. The redhead didn't answer the door when Regina knocked and so, she raised her voice.

"Zelena? Dinner's almost ready."

Silence was the only response.

"Zelena, I'm going to come in if you don't answer the damn door!"

Another beat with no reply. Regina buffed, having become very impatient at once.

"Very well," she muttered, opening the door.

Her sister was sitting on the middle of the bed, staring down at her hands on her lap with a look of calculated tedium. Making no attempt to lift her face, she asked:

"What do you want now?" Her voice sounded mildly irritated —for Regina it also seemed small, though. A small voice whose owner sat on a huge bed.

"It's time for dinner, Zelena," she replied calmly.

Zelena glanced up at her briefly.

"And?" she asked, looking down once more.

Regina gave her a puzzled look.

"And you need to get off the bed and go downstairs with me."

That time, Zelena's reaction was more evident. She fixed her gaze on Regina and opened her mouth, as if she was going to ask something else. She didn't and she closed it again, only to open it later for the second time. And then, she answered what Regina had already imagined she would.

"I'm not hungry."

"I don't care. I'm not about to let you do all you want." Regina's patience, always thin, was running very thin at the moment.

"Oh? I knew it!" Zelena suddenly yelled in a high-pitched voice. "I knew this bloody second chance business was all crap," she went on, getting on her feet and as far away from the younger woman as she could. "What are you going to do now, Regina?" she spat with contempt. "Going to force food down your prisoner's throat?"

Both women were dangerously angry —and they both knew it. The brunette could no longer pretend that the words had not affected her, while the ginger was waiting for a reaction on her part. And Regina did the only thing she could think of: she turned around and got out of the room slamming the door.

* * *

The confrontation with Zelena left her without any appetite. She let the leftovers go cold again and spent most of the time pacing back and forth the living room. How was Robin so patient with her back in the Enchanted Forest? She could hardly restrain herself from strangling the redhead. A mobile phone would have been useful to ask him. She made a mental note to buy him one the next time she went out with him. Yet, for the time being she needed to do something about her resentful guest upstairs.

She had known having her sister staying in the house wouldn't be easy. Regina had just thought she would be... more successful in it. But Zelena, besides never passing up on the opportunity of pushing her buttons, did not offer any place where they could start over from. Still, she knew the other woman wasn't the only one to blame for it. Regina was too quick to get angry and too slow to respond the ginger's outbursts with kindness.

"Well, I suppose she isn't the only one who has to learn new things," she muttered to herself.

First things first. Even though it was already late, her sister had not eaten at all since lunch, if even then. Regina had no stomach for real, heavy food herself and thought that the fallen witch might be more willing to try something sweet anyway.

A few moments later, she was knocking on Zelena's door with one hand while with the other she balanced a tray. The red-haired woman took a while but she finally opened the door herself.

"What do you want now?" she growled. It was a tired growl, though.

"Come on, you must be hungry," said Regina, not quite managing to hold back all her annoyance. She softened her reaction by showing the tray with two bowls.

"Well, I'm not." Even so, Zelena allowed her to enter and also closed the door after her.

"I thought you may be up for some ice cream," the brunette said as she sat down on a chair.

Zelena buffed. She could keep the confusion out of her face, but not out of her next words.

"I don't know why..." 'you're being so kind to me,' she might have finished, but the words were left hanging in the air. Finally, she settled for a glare in Regina's direction.

She remained standing, although she did take a bowl full of ice cream.

"I want to be let alone. Now," she snapped, stressing the last word.

"Too bad, then. I'll leave when we've both finished eating."

Regina thought that maybe she was actually delusional, but Zelena did not look as truly annoyed as she had earlier that evening.

* * *

They had eaten surrounded by a dense silence. It could have been more uncomfortable, though. When they finished, Regina picked up the bowls, set them on the tray and got out of the room saying goodnight.

The whole situation was too awkward, in Zelena's opinion. She didn't know this new Regina. She would sometimes catch some of the Evil Queen's anger or the young Regina's shyness, but neither of those emotions stayed very long. She did not know what to expect, how to act. She couldn't just believe that Regina's behaviour was genuine.

She sat down on the floor thinking for a really long time. Just about an hour after her younger sister was gone, she heard her footsteps coming to a stop near the — _her_?— door. But in the end, Regina's heels went away clicking again. A few moments later, she heard the brunette's door clicked shut and Zelena leant her head back until it touched the bed.

She didn't know why, but after having had ice cream with Regina, she hadn't stood sitting on the bed anymore. It was a truly nice room. The nicest room she had ever had, actually. And it had been given to her by the person she loathed most. And for some reason, perhaps for one of those, or for Regina, or because she did not want the room, the only place she felt she fitted in was the floor. So there she was.

However, the floor was carpeted and it did not feel cold at all. It did not keep company to Zelena's own cold —because she felt terribly cold on the inside. Dread had suddenly got a vicious grip on her heart as well. At first, it was only a tear. She tried to shut her eyes tightly, but another followed shortly after. The last thing she heard before falling asleep was her own sobs.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks to gingerpeps for reviewing! I haven't said it before, but I'm not a native English speaker, so if you spot any mistakes, please tell me. And as always, enjoy and review!**


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The next morning was equally awkward. Again, Zelena chose not to answer when her sister said it was breakfast time from the other side of the door, but Regina did not try to come in that time. A while later, breakfast was brought to her by the brunette, who barely added anything else before getting out again. The witch did not know why, but she could admit to herself that she was a bit upset with Regina for not trying to engage her in conversation, or even for not attempting to get her out of the bedroom. Hunger didn't overtake resentment until breakfast went cold.

Zelena knew it was utterly childish, both getting upset and not eating, and yet, she could not bring herself to care. It may not even matter what she did. Certainly, she was still expecting for the other shoe to drop. For that moment when Regina would stop playing nice and she would discover what the Queen really wanted from her. It only seemed that said moment was closer than she had thought —she did believe Regina would give up on her sooner or later, she just didn't think it would be so soon.

All of a sudden, the thought of taking the tray back to the kitchen popped into her head. That way, she could see what the other woman was up to. However, just as she had taken a hold of the door handle, the main door clicked open. Then, a young voice called for his mother. It was all that was needed to make Zelena freeze on the spot —all the thoughts about wandering the house uninvited vanishing from her mind. Slowly, she put the tray back on the night table. For a long moment, she had no idea about what to do next.

* * *

"What's wrong, mom?"

"Uh?" A little taken aback, Regina looked up from her coffee on the table. "Nothing's wrong. Why do you ask?"

"You're very quiet. You don't seem happy," he clarified.

"Henry, you're here. Of course I'm happy," she replied at once.

Regina didn't really know where that was going, but she reached out and took Henry's hand to reassure him nevertheless. The smile he gave her could easily light up her entire world, of that Regina was sure. It didn't last much, though, because he sobered up rather quickly and kept pressing on.

"You should be happier having your sister at home. You've told me nothing about what you guys did yesterday."

She sighed and drew back her hand in order to pick up her cup and take a sip. She delighted in its warmth for a moment before answering.

"I'm just beginning to think that it wasn't the greatest idea after all."

"Why not?"

Henry's face was serious —solemnity was an odd sight on his still childlike face. He wanted to understand everything so he could help her. Regina felt her heart swell because her little prince was growing far faster she was ready for.

"It's complicated. She and I don't get along very much, I'm afraid."

Henry rolled his eyes at her mother's sarcasm, which got him a smirk from her.

"You just have to talk. You will get along better eventually, you'll see."

Her smile was a bit strained, but her voice was honest when she replied:

"Thanks, sweetheart." In truth, she couldn't say anything else.

Having finished their drinks and that talk, both of them got up. It had not been a proper breakfast —too late for that—, but Regina had indulged some hot cocoa. She started to tidy up the kitchen, thinking of how she would need to go upstairs and collect the tray from Zelena's bedroom. That led to another issue. She was going to address it to her son when she turned around and discovered he was not there. Panic kicked straight away, but before she could call him out loud, he appeared at the kitchen door. Anxiety kept gripping her heart for a little while longer anyway.

"Hey, mom," he said casually, not realising the panic his absence had caused. "I was thinking that maybe I could go and see her. I might get her coming downstairs."

"Not a chance, Henry," she said, sternly. "I don't want you to go near her."

"But, mom—"

"She's dangerous."

"She'll never change if no one gives her a chance," he retorted. "We've given her one, we must go through it now."

The earnestness in Henry's eyes broke down Regina's resolution. He reminded her of Snow more than ever. They had the same blind faith. And she really wanted something like that for Zelena, but above all, she wanted her son safe. Forbidding Henry from seeing the witch would only lead him to sneak around, though. So Regina made a quick decision, praying she would not regret.

"Very well. But under one condition: you can see her as long as I'm with you. Understood?"

"As always, mom," he said, beaming. And it seemed she brought light into his life, too.

* * *

When Regina went to fetch the tray, she found Zelena reading some book she had probably found on the bookcase that was there. The redhead gave no sign of being willing to talk and, despite the feeling of not being in control whenever her sister was involved threatened to drive her crazy, Regina was looking forward to spending time with her son. Thus, she barely put any real effort to engage the other woman in conversation.

She and Henry spent the whole afternoon catching up and playing both board games and videogames. Regina would have liked to go out with him, maybe have lunch at Granny's or eat some ice cream at the park, but she didn't dare leave Zelena alone in the house just yet. They had also agreed on bringing her lunch upstairs, but have dinner together the three of them later. Regina really hoped Zelena would not do —or say— anything foolish, and so, she wouldn't be forced to incinerate her.

Finally, the —a bit— dreaded evening came, and the former mayor took a long breath to steady herself when she stood in front of Zelena's door. She knocked on it once before striding into the room feigning more confidence than she truly felt. Her sister kept reading, although that time she did look up when Regina came in.

"It's dinnertime, come on," she said. It got out much more forceful than she had intended and so, it sounded sort of like a demand. Well, too bad.

"I would much prefer if you just bring me the dinner here," the redhead snapped back coldly.

"I'm not your maid. Besides, it's already been agreed you'd have dinner with us."

There was a bit of very dense silence.

"... Us?"

Regina's eyes went slightly wide to match with her disbelief, because Zelena had sounded very insecure there all of a sudden. Even so, her current mood had no place for pity. It would not be well received, anyway.

"Yes, Henry and me," she clarified dryly. "Don't pretend you haven't heard him while you were hiding."

The caustic reply had the desired effect.

"I wasn't hiding!" Zelena protested right away. A faint blush spread across her cheeks due to her outburst and she muttered, "I heard him. I just thought he'd already be gone."

"Well, he's not. C'mon."

Still, her sister did not move an inch.

"I... How on earth are you letting me anywhere near him?"

She was stalling and they both knew.

"Because I'll be there, too. And so help me, Zelena, if you do as much as saying something hurtful to him, the mental ward will be a more suitable place for you."

Flashes of spending the rest of her life in a creepy and poor illuminated place surely crossed Zelena's mind, because she actually flinched. At once, she became self-conscious of it and schooled her features. And Regina couldn't help softening a little then.

"Let's go, Zelena. Dinner's going to get cold."

At last, the redhead reluctantly followed her out of the room. She knew refusing to go would be seen as a sign of weakness.

When they got downstairs, Henry had just set the table. He gave her mother a hesitant smile, whereas Zelena only received a very thoughtful look. The red-haired may have fixed a glare on him at any other time, but she was busy at the moment trying to hide her own unease. It was a fairly poor attempt, although Henry could have missed it if only he wasn't so used to trying to read his own mother.

Dinner started as tense as it could have been expected. However, at some point Regina and Henry began to talk about his studies and, suddenly, Henry was addressing Zelena to ask her out of the blue:

"Did you have schools there? Or private tutors or something like that?"

Zelena's eyes went wide and she opened and shut her mouth like a fish out of water. The brunette might have smirked at her dramatic antics if the situation had been more relaxed. Although her sister would not have seen her anyway —she had her eyes fixed on Henry.

"There?" she finally managed to mutter.

Regina guessed it wasn't just that Zelena had not understood the question or what the word referred to. She looked like she couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that he had asked her at all.

"Yeah. There, in Oz," he clarified.

Henry tried to appear nonchalant, but doubt was quickly creeping up in his voice. It made Regina cut in straight away.

"Schools aren't a common occurrence in other worlds, Henry. I had tutors myself."

"Well, I didn't," snapped Zelena all of a sudden, her previous hesitation already forgotten. Hearing clearly the bitterness in her voice, Regina immediately regretted having brought up her past. "Those who weren't well off lacked many opportunities," the redhead went on.

Regina had thought of telling some silly story about dying of boredom at some lessons and even skipping them to ride instead on some occasion. If one left out Cora's following punishments, those anecdotes could lift the current mood at the table. Yet, it seemed her sister did not need much to sour it even more.

Pleasantries were over and Regina snapped back harshly:

"Well, now we're here, where everyone can have equal opportunities. Stop wallowing."

The ginger looked her in the eye like she wanted to kill her on the spot —which was probably the case.

"I've lost my appetite. I'm going upstairs," she announced as she got up.

Regina wasn't about to stop her. At that point, the conversation had been reduced to murderous looks. That was why, when Henry intervened, she truly believed hell was going to break loose.

"You shouldn't. Getting up from the table before everyone has finished eating is really rude. Besides, I'd thought we could play some videogames before I go."

Nevertheless, his calm, ordinary words had an extraordinary effect. He had spoken as if what he was saying was the most normal thing in the world, and it may be what made Zelena's wrath deflated on its own accord almost at once, like a soap bubble suddenly exploding.

"What? But I..." She might have realised how many times she had hesitated in front of a twelve-year-old boy, because she corrected herself hastily. "I don't know how to play your childish games, nor am I interested in learning."

However, her cold façade did not frighten Henry that time. He did glance dubiously towards his mother for a moment, but then seemed to make up his mind and offered:

"I could show you, anyway."

* * *

 **A/N: How was that for the first interaction without attempts at murdering between Zelena and Henry? I'd love to know what you think of the fic so far. Please, review!**


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Zelena had refused his invitation, of course, but at least she had sat again and the three of them could finish their dinner in a silent, surreal calm. Regina had doubted whether sending Henry or not, but she had finally gone to the kitchen and retrieved the desserts herself. She had get them as fast as she could without actually using magic, and that had not been lost to Zelena, who, despite her rigid semblance, had managed a lifted eyebrow and a smug expression. When dinner was really over, the redhead had stared at Regina for a moment. Then, with no other word, she had got up and gone upstairs.

Henry sighed and his mother offered him a small sympathetic smile.

"I'd thought that maybe... If she felt included, she'd take the chance."

"Things are a little complicated, Henry, but you did well. Give it time, and we shall see."

They both got up from the table and started carrying dishes to the kitchen.

"Will you be okay tonight? I... I'm sorry, mom, but I don't trust her."

"Neither do I."

Henry frowned at that.

"You don't?"

"No, of course not. She put all our lives in danger just a couple of days ago. I didn't even want you near her."

"But in that case, why move her here? Why not leave her in the sheriff's station for some more days?"

"Because, honey, she wasn't going to improve on her own —you've said that yourself. She'd only have felt even more abandoned." Regina swallowed, forcing the words out of her mouth. "And I don't want that."

Henry marvelled at how sometimes, for the briefest of the moments, all the confidence and bravado of her mom would crumble, leaving in its place a still very heartbroken human being. Yet, it was not a pretty sight, so he stepped closer, determined to make her sadness fade away.

"It's okay, mom," he said, relishing in the possibility of being able to hug her once more. He had missed her, even when he didn't know she existed. "Everything will work out. Now you're a hero."

Regina made a face at that but said nothing in favour of losing herself in the embrace. Henry knew she did not like the terminology, but he still liked telling her all the same, and she didn't really mind when it was him who said it.

* * *

A couple of hours later, already at his grandparents' apartment, Henry spent a long time wondering about Zelena and second chances in general. The Wicked Witch had led to Neal's death, who was his biological father. But she was his mother's sister, so she was also family. And they did not give up on family easily. Snow White had offered several second chances to her stepmother. It had taken many years and plenty of pain, but there in Storybrooke, they were finally family once again. He knew his mother wanted to offer Zelena the same. Redemption was possible. And still...

And still, Henry felt no forgiveness towards his aunt. He just wanted his mother to be happy —they deserved to be a happy family once more. Was it not what heroes did? They had forgiveness on the inside. They helped everyone, including bad people. They vanquished the threat if it persisted, though. So, was he a bad person for not wanting to forgive Zelena? Would he be a bad person for forgiving her despite all she had done? Did forgiving his mother and not his aunt make him less good of a person?

All those questions swam in his head until sleep took him over at last. The only conclusion he reached was that no one was pressing him for answers, so he could take his time to figure them out. Although something was clear: a hero did not leave the battlefield until the fight was over.

* * *

She was not even going to check in on Zelena before going to bed. She was not. Regina was thinking about her brief meeting with Robin —that time due to his having to pick up his boy— when she walked past the closed door. And then, she could not help thinking if the other woman was already asleep or if her demons kept her awake at night, as Regina's did more often than not. She rapped on the door softly and, to her surprise, Zelena opened it.

"What do you want?"

Despite her hostile tone, Regina knew Zelena wanted to talk, however unwilling she might be to admit it. There was no other explanation. The redhead did not bother answering most days, so why would she now? Regina would take her victories whenever she could. She strode in past her sister.

"I was just heading to bed—"

"And you thought of saying goodnight? How sweet of you, little sis," cut off Zelena.

All right, maybe Zelena just wanted somebody to argue with.

"Do you need something?" Regina replied in return, her voice sharp but not nasty.

Zelena only gave her a halfhearted smirk, as saying 'What could I possibly need? Maybe my magic? Or my freedom?' She said nothing for a moment, though, walking across to the window.

"Your boy clearly gets his manners from the side of his real mother, doesn't he?"

'Henry is my son as much as Emma's,' was Regina's first thought, and then, 'You say Henry is my boy but refer to Emma as his real mother. Why, sis?' However, the brunette decided to take a more subtle path to find it out.

"Where does this sudden interest in my son come from?"

"Well," Zelena began to elaborate without much enthusiasm, "he was raised by the Evil Queen and is the saviour's son, but he doesn't seem very... powerful. I'm just wondering what the Evil Queen would want a useless tool for."

She may have been controlling her temperament around her sister and trying to understand her and be as patient as she could with her, but she was not going to tolerate any insults towards Henry.

"Careful, Zelena. The Evil Queen might make an appearance and rip your heart out if you don't watch your mouth talking about _my son_."

The redhead looked barely impressed for the threat, but had the good sense to stop antagonising Regina.

"You really love that boy, don't you?" Her voice was so controlled, so thoughtfully void of emotion, that it did not seem real.

Something was very off about that question and Regina was starting to guess what.

"Of course I do. He's my son. It doesn't matter who gave him birth." She should have stopped herself there, because Zelena had not meant for her sister to figure out what answer she was really trying to find. And yet, her next words were already out, sharper than she had intended them to be, for honesty was still difficult sometimes. "I'm sorry you weren't luckier with your adoptive family, but—"

"Cora should have been my mother!"

At the angry shout, Regina's temperament flared up at once.

"You have no idea of how Cora was!"

"Well, maybe I would've liked to know!" the redhead yelled back even louder.

"Well, maybe then I wish you had known and spared me of her!"

Regina looked like she had had enough of that shouting contest and turned around. She exited the room trying not to slam the door —with little success. Already in the corridor, she flinched, as she usually did at loud noises.

* * *

After the brunette had got out, Zelena had remained standing on the spot, thinking about the look of horror that had crossed Regina's face for barely a second. Had it been for the realisation of her own words? Perhaps of the whole argument. That possibility alone made her want to stay up until she found out a satisfactory answer. However, she was more exhausted than she realised and so, she finally got some sleep that night.

In the morning, Zelena surprised Regina by coming down at the kitchen while the latter was still making breakfast. The redhead did not let herself stand at the door and she strode in the kitchen mustering as much confidence as she could.

"Good morning," greeted Regina in a neutral tone.

"Morning," she said back dully.

"Coffee or tea?"

"Tea, I suppose."

Zelena felt anxiety creeping up on her. She was starting to regret having come down at all. Actually, she could find no reason why she had.

"Okay," replied Regina, not realising her distress. "The kettle's there, it just boiled, and in that cupboard there are some different kinds of tea. Help yourself."

Regina was very deliberately paying her no attention, focusing on what was in the frying pan instead. Zelena almost lost it then and ran away from that unnerving silence, but her pride kept her feet glued to the floor. After several painful minutes, she was able to move again and began to prepare her tea. The brunette had not made a single comment and the tightness in her chest did not disappear.

For a moment, Zelena considered the possibility that Regina was only making her own breakfast. That would be mortifying, besides leaving her pretty hungry. All doubts faded away when Regina began to put the food on two dishes, though. She set them down on the table and poured some coffee for herself in a mug. She sat on a chair and was quickly followed by Zelena. The redhead was visibly stiff, but she would hate to think that Regina had taken pity on her when she decided to break the silence.

"I'm sorry for what I said last night. It was cruel."

"Cruel?" she asked incredulously, trying to find the hidden mockery in the apology.

"Yes. The fact that you didn't get to meet mother isn't actually your fault, and it doesn't excuse my behaviour. You must bear the guilt of many acts, Zelena, but not that. You just can't know, but I do, and so I know that what I said —that damn wish— was indeed terrible."

Zelena was speechless. The brunette's honesty was obvious, if her awkwardness was any proof of it. In addition, it was also all over her face, in her eyes and in her words. She had no clue about what she was supposed to make of that, or even what she needed to reply. Her sister seemed to read her mind on that last matter, because she continued talking.

"It's okay. You don't have to answer. I just wanted you to know."

Zelena gave her a curt nod in acknowledgment and kept eating. She would discover what Regina was really up to eventually. Then, everything would make sense. And meanwhile, the brunette went on about her plans for the day. All of a sudden, Zelena lost interest in waiting for Regina to show her true colours. When she knew the younger woman would be away for the afternoon, Zelena saw her chance.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks so much to clearly-blue-eyed-witch, RoseRed and the two guests for their reviews! I'm really glad to see you're enjoying the story. You guys make my day. :)  
**

 **To answer RoseRed, I also want Zelena to find happiness and people who love her and so, with a bit of luck, she'll find that in this story** ** **—if only she'd stop being so stubborn... But then I guess it wouldn't be half as fun. ;)** But no, I'm not planning on her having a baby or, for that matter, having any love interest. Sorry. (Thanks for reviewing _Unusual Battlefield_ too, by the way. You're really sweet.)**

 **As always, enjoy and review! Really, don't hesitate to tell me anything: either opinions, ideas or corrections. It's always nice to know people take the time to write a review on your story. :)**


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Before going out for lunch, Regina had told Zelena where the food was stored in the kitchen. So it seemed the brunette expected her prisoner would wander around the house in her absence. And yet, Zelena waited for her to get out before even going downstairs. She spent another hour idly exploring the mansion, not wanting to take the risk of being caught because the other woman was back earlier than she expected. Then, when she was quite sure Regina would not be returning to her house any time soon, she began the real attempt to escape.

She knew it would not be easy. Thus, she did not let herself become very disappointed when an invisible wall prevented her from going out to the garden. She stood there for a long time, thinking of some spot where Regina could have chosen not to enact the magical barrier. It was highly improbable she had forgotten any window or door on the ground floor, where most of the time was spent, but maybe some window in a room which she barely used...

Without her permission, a question filled her with dread: where would she go?

"Anywhere but here," she muttered through gritted teeth.

She clenched her fists, feeling the familiar anger. It hardly mattered where she would go once she got out of Regina's house. There were ways of going back to magic lands, even from a land without magic.

Anywhere would be better than there, she told herself. She was powerless, but she was a smart person, she would figure out a way. She always did. She just needed to get out of that town, where she had no allies —and of that house, where Regina said she was safe, but all Zelena heard was that she was at her mercy.

She walked up and down the house, searching every room except for Regina's and what she could only assume must have been Henry's. Both of them were locked with magic, so she really could do nothing there. She also searched for magical items, but found none. She was starting to get desperate.

The last room that was left to search was on the first floor. Zelena stood there, deep in thought. It was small and mostly empty, but still had a little window to check. Zelena opened it and took in the nice breeze that blew through. Nevertheless, when her fingers darted out, they came into contact with the barrier. Instead of drawing back her hand angrily like the other times, on this occasion Zelena delighted in the magic running beyond her fingertips. It was light magic. It was warm and refreshing at the same time, like a caress or a compliment. It reminded her of a magic lost long ago in favour of something more powerful —more wicked.

She tried to connect with her innate magic through that. Of course, how didn't she think of it before? A connection might work, it was well worth the try. And she was in an apparently useless room whose window looked out onto the back of the house. It was perfect.

She worked slowly, trying to recover the lost connection with her purest magic. However, it was easier said than done. Regina's magic was quite powerful —if she had her true power, it would mean no threat, but hers was... well, not found yet. In addition, Zelena had at the back of her mind that Regina could return at any time.

And then, all at once, her careful efforts were proved to be in vain.

There was a shout and the whole barrier shook, reacting against Zelena and throwing her back. She let out a painful gasp —the tips of her fingers were a bit burnt and they hurt. Her concerned look at her hand changed into one of gratifying surprise when she noticed that, for a moment, she had been able to feel her own magic. The feeling had been fleeting and weak, and was lost already, but it had been there, and it gave her renewed hope. Right after that, she wondered if it had been her who had set off the magical wall. She had been extremely careful not to. All those thoughts had crossed her mind within barely seconds, but Zelena had no time to think beyond that.

An explosion was heard and a faint tremble reached Zelena. The colour drained from her face. Was she under attack? She supposed someone must have thrown an object against the house —that had set off the barrier. And, as the magic had stopped it from penetrating, it had exploded outside.

She ran to her room —to the room her sister let her have, she reminded herself once more. She looked out the window and saw a lot of smoke at the front of the house. Had the explosion caused a fire? Gulping, she looked for flames frantically. Luckily, she saw nothing but black smoke. It also seemed there was no one around.

She stood there for several seconds, paralysed, until a persistent pounding on the front door interrupted her train of thought. She tried to swallow down her anxiety while whoever it was kept knocking on the door. It stopped for a moment, when a female voice cried frantically:

"Regina? Zelena? Is there somebody home? Are you okay? Open the door! Or answer, damn it!"

* * *

Eventually, the pounding stopped. Zelena remained in her room, very still, trying to process what was going on. She had not much time, though, because less than five minutes since the shouting for someone to open the door stopped, she heard the door being opened anyway. She stiffened, imagining the possible case scenarios in her head. However, once she recognised Regina's footsteps coming upstairs, tension left her body. She clenched her jaw at the realisation. Since when was Regina's presence not a threat?

"Zelena!"

Regina burst in her room. It was difficult to say whether her voice held concern or anger. Behind her, there was a blonde woman Zelena had never seen. She guessed it was the person who had been yelling before, though.

"Something the matter, sis?" she asked, hardly trying to hide her contempt under a mask of feigned boredom.

"What the hell happened?" snapped Regina.

"Why would I know?" snapped Zelena back, matching her tone right away.

"Regina," the blonde woman cut in, "I don't think she's had anything to do with it. I've already told you, there was smoke outside the house."

That did not save Zelena from receiving another glare on Regina's part.

"Did you see something, then?"

"There was smoke," agreed Zelena idly.

She might have got used to Regina's new peaceful nature too fast, because she was startled when the brunette moved forward and grabbed her wrist tightly. The younger woman looked her in the eye as if she was going to say something, but her blonde friend was by her side the next moment, putting a calm hand on her arm and giving her no time.

"Regina," she said, soothingly, "it's okay. She's okay."

Zelena had no idea why that snapped her sister out of it, but Regina let her go. She rubbed her wrist, more for show than anything else, but it was enough for Regina to see the burns. She caught her hand again and, even though her grip tightened when Zelena tried to free herself, it was gentler that time.

"What's this?"

"Nothing," replied Zelena trying to tug her hand away to no avail.

"Your fingers are burned. But the explosion didn't reach you, did it? What happened?"

The redhead stopped her struggle and refused to speak. When seconds passed and it became obvious she was not going to give in, Regina sighed and dropped her hand as she turned around.

"Tink, can you go downstairs and call David and Emma? They'll want to investigate what exploded."

The woman, Tink, nodded and, with a last glance at Zelena, went out of the room. Regina barely waited to break the silence.

"Can we at least sit down?"

Zelena agreed, feeling suddenly exhausted. She didn't miss the fact that the other woman looked as tired as her. The redhead sat down on the bed, but Regina stopped midway through the chair. She moved towards Zelena instead, making a vague gesture at her hand.

"May I heal it? Healing spells aren't my strong suit, but since I have this new magic... I can try."

"You do inspire confidence, sis," she scoffed. "It's nothing."

The brunette bit her lip and the ginger could not help wondering why she looked so nervous. There was nothing Zelena should be nervous about, let alone Regina. It seemed neither of the women really believed she had something to do with the recent events, so she could breathe easy for the moment. She had expected an interrogation, though, more so since the former Queen had sent Tink downstairs. Instead, Regina seemed to have dropped the questioning, focusing on a non-life threatening injury.

"Okay, I don't have to." Regina's voice, carefully void of emotion, put her out of her thoughts. "I have a first aid kit. I'm going to search for a burn balm, all right?"

Thankfully, she did not seem to be waiting for an answer, because she left anyway despite Zelena not having opened her mouth. She came back shortly after, carrying a tube that the redhead guessed contained the balm. Regina handed it out to her.

"You just have to squeeze a little and it'll come out."

"I know how cream tubes work," Zelena snapped, even though the instructions were not completely useless —she had not been in this world long enough to try out everything.

"Very well," said Regina, probably not willing to engage in a fight over something so silly. She waited patiently for Zelena to finish and the latter handed back the tube when she was done.

"Aren't you going to ask me how I got the burns?" she questioned when the other woman did not add anything else for an uncomfortably long moment.

"Are you going to tell me?" Regina calmly asked in return as she put on the cap.

"No," replied Zelena at once, defiantly.

"Then, I'm not wasting my time," she said before exiting the room.

Once she was alone, the redhead allowed herself to gape openly. After some thinking, she had been positive her sister was only showing interest in healing her because she expected to gain her trust through kindness and, that way, get the truth out of her. Nevertheless, Regina had not even asked twice. She had supplied her with a balm that had eased the burning sensation almost immediately and then, she had got out as if everything was solved. Nothing was, though.

Zelena looked down at her hands, fighting the impulse of closing them into fists out of frustration. No matter how painful the burns were, she could not have accepted Regina's magic —she should have gone really crazy to trust her that way. But she had wanted to see Regina's anger once she had given Zelena the balm and still, the redhead did not tell her anything. However, again her sister had got the upper hand.

* * *

 **A/N:** **Thanks very much to clearly-blue-eyed-witch, dorypop and RoseRed for reviewing! Thanks for all the follows and favourites, too. I'm very glad to know I got Henry in character so far. :) Here Tink has appeared for the first time. Yay! I love this character. :D**

 **Enjoy and review!  
**


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Zelena saw through the window how Emma and her father looked around the place, collecting what surely was evidence. Regina and her blonde friend were there, too, watching them —the brunette did not seem in the mood to talk at the moment, though. When the 'heroic' family left, Tink did not go with them, instead getting into the house with Regina again.

Against her best judgement, Zelena opened her bedroom door and got out to the corridor. She would deny having gone to eavesdropping, but it was exactly what she was doing. It seemed it had not crossed either Regina's mind or Tink's the thought that the former witch would do something like that, because they stopped in the hall for a bit, talking without bothering to lower their voices.

"I guess they were just some thugs taking advantage of the fact that the Evil Queen had gone soft. Besides, the barrier worked perfectly and so, I suppose I have nothing to worry about, but..." Regina drifted off, putting an end to what clearly was a nervous rambling.

"So there has been no real damage, right?"

"Yes, but—"

"And I do think whoever it was had no true intention of causing hurt. That said, it doesn't mean you don't have the right to be upset. It's normal you're still thinking of the worst-case scenarios."

"It's just... What could I do?" Regina's voice was so low at the end that Zelena wondered whether she would have imagined the question at all.

"You can do no more than what you've already done." Tink's voice, however, was comforting and full of confidence. She could even picture the petite blonde putting a reassuring hand on Regina's arm. The mere thought made her blood boil with jealousy.

The following seconds were filled with silence, which was broken by a sigh from Regina.

"I should go to make dinner. Why don't you stay and eat with us?"

"You sure?"

They headed for the kitchen, their voices fading away with the distance, and Zelena went back to her room. She didn't need to hear Regina's affirmative reply.

* * *

Tink helped her with dinner showing her usual enthusiasm for new things. Of all the people who had come to Storybrooke with the second curse, she was adapting the best to the technology, clothing and customs of the new world. Not for the first time that day, Regina felt very grateful it was her who was walking by and saw the smoke. She had taken control of the situation and had called Regina when no one opened the door. The brunette had barely stuttered out an explanation to the Charmings and Henry before heading out of Granny's. It was actually Emma who reminded her she could just puff herself home, getting there at once. Yes, she was as grateful for Tink's adaptation to the modernity of that world as she was for Emma's acceptance of magic.

"So, how's Zelena doing?" the blonde asked, putting her out of her thoughts.

They had both sat down as the chicken baked in the oven.

"Wonderfully," scoffed Regina sarcastically. "Haven't you seen?"

"I've just seen a very defensive woman not reacting well to another equally nervous," said Tink with naked honesty.

Regina glared at her, but it held no real heat. She knew her friend was only saying what she thought, as she always did.

"Zelena doesn't want to accept help. That much is clear," she said, and that time there was more resignation than sarcasm. "And I don't exactly know how to help her, either."

"This is not your fault, Regina. You're doing your best."

"Then, I just wish I knew how to do _better_."

"I really think she'll come around eventually," the fairy said confidently, reaching out for her friend's hand.

"I get enough hope talks from Snow already, thanks," Regina replied dryly.

The blonde chuckled and shook her head softly.

"Thank you," said Regina unexpectedly, giving a squeeze to Tink's hand, "for being a friend."

Maybe Tink answered with an 'Anytime' or an 'Of course,' but what really made Regina's heart swell was the radiant smile that was directed at _her_.

Later, that night's dinner became the most awkward of all the sisters had had together. Tink had soon desisted from her attempts of happy chatter, so they had eaten in a dense silence, only broken from time to time by questions and answers between Regina and Tinkerbell.

Once Zelena had finished, she had left the table with a snarky comment about the food and the company. She may have been disappointed when it was only met with a shared look between the two other women. Some time later, they started to clean up the table while they kept catching up.

Little did Regina know that Zelena lay on her bed at that moment, thinking about the day's events but ignoring on purpose everything related to her younger sister. She was instead focusing on there being a possibility of breaking the magical barrier. She was sure that, should she have enough time, she would be able to get through it safely. In any case, escaping from there was for Zelena well worth a few burns. She fell asleep with a smile on her face, even though her heart did not even feel slightly lighter.

* * *

Her plan of running away was frustrated when next day Regina stayed at home all day. Zelena remained in her room for the most part of it. The thief, Robin Hood, had dropped by early in the morning and so, Zelena had skipped breakfast —even though her sister insisted on making a tray with tea and fruit appear out of nowhere on her night table. She thought that perhaps, if she made her presence unnoticeable, Regina would let down a bit and go out with her boyfriend. However, the brunette had planned something quite different.

That morning, Regina had woken up with a message from Snow asking her to call her as soon as possible. She did, worried that something would have happened. Yet, she was only taken aback when, without much preamble, the younger woman told her that she didn't wish to be mayor again once her maternity leave was over. Snow loved her job as a teacher and had almost begged Regina to take the mayor position once more. At the beginning, she had been so shocked that she had barely managed to give an answer. They had finally agreed on Regina taking the job for the time being, until Storybrooke held elections within a year.

Once that was cleared up, they changed the subject, moving on a bit awkwardly to the topic of family on both sides. How's Henry, have Emma and David found something of interest already... Snow even managed to convince Regina of going over for dinner some evening that week. The newly restored mayor had just hung up when someone knocked on the front door.

It was Robin, who had brought breakfast by surprise because he had missed spending time with her as much as she had. Regina explained to him what had happened the previous day, and her reason why she was so unwilling to leave the house and Zelena alone at that point. He had nodded gravely, understanding the situation. As the redhead had refused to come down for breakfast, they had spent the time talking between kisses and caresses until it was time for lunch. It was then when Regina decided to put an end to her sister's reclusion.

She left Robin making a fruit salad and some sandwiches while she went upstairs. As always, Regina knocked on the door, although she opened it anyway when there was no answer from the other side. Zelena was apparently comfortable, sitting on the window bench, reading.

"C'mon, we're having lunch with Robin today."

The redhead looked up at her skeptically.

"You mean you're having lunch with him. I've got no interest in your hooded thief," Zelena said, her eyebrows going even more up.

"That's enough," said Regina in a stern voice. She was truly tired of her sister acting as if she was in control there. "You're coming down with me and that's it. There will be no more meals brought to you. This isn't a hotel, Zelena, and you have to start doing your bit here."

It was all the other woman needed to lose it.

"I'm not going to do my bit! I don't want to!" she yelled, getting on her feet. "I'm not going to take your rubbish second chance. When will you learn it?"

Regina felt the familiar rush of anger as well.

"Oh, so would you have preferred to die at Rumplestiltskin's hands?"

Zelena opened her mouth to reply, but her sister would never know what she was going to say, because at that moment Robin showed up at the door. With all the shouting, neither of the women had heard his hurried footsteps going upstairs.

"What's going on?" he asked, looking worriedly between the two sisters.

"Oh, look who's—"

"Shut up," growled Regina, effectively cutting her off. Then, she turned towards Robin. "Nothing's going on. You didn't have to come, we'll be downstairs in a moment."

"Are you planning on dragging me out, sis?" came then Zelena's petulant question. She didn't even bother in hiding a smile full of satisfaction. She was enjoying it.

Regina rounded on her, ready to lash out again, but she was stopped by Robin. When she looked up at him, his eyes seemed to be telling her: 'You should calm down before keeping dealing with her.' She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, her face still towards the leader of the Merry Men. When she knew she could control her voice, she turned towards Zelena.

"Very well. You want your meals delivered in, don't you?" Her sister's smug expression kept infuriating her and so, she could not help a last scalding remark. "Anything to please my prisoner."

Regina had turned around before finishing her last sentence. Even angry, she didn't want to see the redhead's facial response as she and Robin got out of the room.

By a mutual, silent agreement, both Robin and Regina skipped lunch that afternoon. He wanted to cheer her up, to offer her his support, but right after they had sat down on the sofa, Regina looked down at their intertwined hands and burst into tears. All her fears, her insecurities, all those emotions she had barely put on words with others slipped free together with her tears. She could not stop crying. She didn't have to, though. Right away, Robin's arms were enveloping her. He said nothing. She was grieving for a whole life —hers— and there were no words that could make it easier.

* * *

 **A/N:** **Thanks so much to clearly-blue-eyed-witch, RoseRed and cbingaling for their reviews! You guys are amazing and your comments make my day. I'm very glad to read you are enjoying the story so much. :) By the way, I haven't said it before, but I reply to logged-in users privately. So if someone has the same doubts and couldn't see the answer to a question because of that, don't hesitate to ask me again.  
**

 **Hope you keep enjoying. Let me know what you think!**


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Zelena already knew she was a prisoner in that house —hence her determination to escape. And still, the remark had stung. She paced up and down the bedroom and waited for a punishment for not having attended lunch with the former Queen and her boyfriend. Said punishment did not come, though. Neither did her sister. A tray with dinner appeared early, and disappeared at midnight together with the breakfast of that morning, both untouched.

Regina must have been really furious, Zelena thought. And that only steeled her purpose. She would escape at the next chance she had.

Regina still didn't come to her room the following day. That morning, Zelena did eat. She was determined to gather all her strength in order not to waste her next opportunity. She knew the brunette would be away for a while when dinner appeared early again and shortly after, the front door was opened and closed. Regina must have gone to have dinner with someone. It did not matter to Zelena. The important thing was that she was alone in the house.

She wanted to waste no time, but she knew that, if she got out then and her sister came back because she had forgotten something, everything would have been in vain. And so, she forced herself to have dinner calmly before heading for the bedroom door. However, when she tried to open it, it was locked. Zelena tried again, putting more force into it and, when it remained shut, she let out a frustrated cry and even gave it a kick. Regina had surely placed a charm on it after the events of the previous day. Zelena could try to knock it down, but she knew it would be to no avail. Brute strength could not beat magic.

She would have to get out through the window in the room. It was on the first floor and looked to the front of the house. Definitely not ideal, but still, her only choice.

She opened the window and felt the familiar tact of her sister's protection spell. Zelena focused, as she had done the other time, but no magic came to her. She tried harder, cursing Regina through gritted teeth. Again, she felt nothing new. It might have been ten minutes before she realised what was failing. She needed to find her purest, most basic magic for the task she had at hand. Her power was bound to her lost pendant, which now lay useless somewhere containing a lifetime of magic, but a trace of her innate magic had to remain deep inside her. One she would never reach if she kept focusing on how much she despised the other woman. Breathing deeply a couple of times, she allowed herself a few minutes to calm down before continuing.

It wasn't easy, but little by little her magic came to examine the foreign one. Zelena pushed, but with little result. She pushed harder and harder, and she didn't stop even when she felt the barrier giving up under her pressure. She didn't notice how heavy her breathing had become, or the thin layer of sweat that covered her forehead. She kept trying and lost track of time, feeding on the realisation of her own strength. She was a powerful witch and Regina's magic was no foe for her.

Despite all her encouragement, she was incapable of breaking the barrier. There was no crack, no soft vanishing into nothingness of the spell that surrounded the house. All Zelena could get was a circle-shaped breach —one that she knew wouldn't last very long.

She finally stopped when it became obvious that she had no strength for anything more. Thus, she needed to take the chance she had got. She stood there for a whole minute, trying to catch her breath as she looked at the night that had fallen... she didn't know when. She considered the possibility of taking something with her, but she ruled it out swiftly. Nothing in there was truly hers and, besides, she had to go through the opening quickly, before it shut itself.

She climbed up into the window frame and into the breach. She knew she had to be fast, because when it closed, the entire barrier would react against her, like the day something was thrown at it and, in return, the spell threw Zelena back. In spite of it, she couldn't help a last glance towards her room. Irrational thoughts popped into her head and she shook it to erase them, starting to climb down.

It was certainly more difficult than she had expected. There were few hold points and the use of magic had weakened her greatly. She was thinking about how much she missed her broom when a sudden dizziness came over her. She desperately tightened her grip on the window stool and leaned closer to the wall. She _had_ to calm herself down and regain control of the situation. As she repeated those words to herself, she heard a motor car coming closer. It didn't matter whether it was Regina's car or not. If someone else saw her, they would call the mayor. She panicked and attempted to rush her climbing, but it only went from bad to worse.

She lost her footing and fell down to the ground with a yell. The grass hardly softened her fall. She heard the sickening crack that meant she had broken her ankle. Through the pain, she also heard a voice calling her name. A second later, hands were on her arm and a different voice was assuring her everything was going to be all right. She opened her eyes full of tears and saw the blurry shape of her nephew. At her feet, it was Regina. The brunette made eye contact with her before speaking.

"Don't worry, I'm gonna fix it. Take a deep breath, okay?"

Zelena wanted to refuse, but before she could even think of the words, a bright light was coming out of Regina's hands. A warm feeling tickled her feet and for an instant it did not feel awful —it was a pleasant sensation, actually. However, then the light began to engulf her whole body and she panicked.

"Shh... It's okay."

Ironically, she panicked even more upon hearing Henry's reassurances.

When the spell was over, nowhere in Zelena's body hurt but fear was still hard to conceal. She was trembling like a leaf and needed several deep breaths to regain her composure. Henry and Regina let her do so in silence —he had already removed his hands from her arm. When she managed to calm down, the ugly truth revealed itself to her: she had been caught trying to escape. Everything in her wanted to duck her head and hope that the ground would open up and swallow her. Yet, she forced herself to meet Regina's eyes defiantly.

"Come on. No way I'm having this conversation outside." Regina tried to appear nonchalant, but her voice was crispy and strained.

She attempted to send Henry with Emma, but she was unsuccessful there, too. He refused outright, though he consented to stay in the living room while the two women went upstairs. When they got into Zelena's room, Regina closed the door behind them. Then, she made something appear in a purple smoke. Before Zelena knew what was going on, Regina had reached out for her right arm and slapped a black cuff on her wrist.

"How glad I am now that I convinced Rumple to lean me this," she said dryly as explanation. Again, the brunette had tried for a sarcastic remark to distance herself from the talk. And again, she had failed miserably, for it came out empty and without any real bite.

"W— What..." Zelena stuttered out before closing her mouth.

The redhead felt all the magic fading away. Or rather, her magic had gone to some place that she couldn't reach at the same time that she had stopped feeling any other magic that could be in the air as well. She suddenly felt she was suffocating. She gasped and looked at Regina, who was giving her the most pitying look she had probably ever seen.

She no longer needed to ask. She knew what the cuff meant.

"S— Sis, do not dare..."

If Regina's previous attempt to remain indifferent had failed, Zelena did not even sound remotely threatening as she had wanted. Her voice broke and, for a few seconds, stopped her from going on.

"Please, don't."

It was a desperate shot, and she hated herself for it, but she would not mind if having Regina's pity also meant breathing magic again. Tears glistened in Zelena's eyes and it was clear Regina was fighting for not avoiding her gaze. However, the brunette remained strong.

"Zelena, as much as I wish I didn't, I have to. I'll admit that I've made mistakes and that I'm not the best at this second-chance business, but there isn't much I can do either if you keep refusing to accept my help." There was no mockery in her voice. Zelena wanted to hate her more than ever, but even she could see it was no victory for her. "Take this night to think, sis. I'll come back in the morning to drag you out for breakfast."

* * *

 **A/N: Well, that was hard to write. I just hope I'm giving feelings to you all! :P Thanks so much to clearly-blue-eyed-witch, Onceuponlover, Resilient Heart of a Queen and the guest for reviewing. I appreciate you dropping by to tell me what you think very much.**

 **As always, guys, hope you enjoy and please, review!**


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Regina barely slept that night. Truth be told, she sometimes felt as if she hadn't had a real, full night of sleep since Henry found out the truth about the first curse.

She had been thinking for days of how she could fix that entire situation, and she had come up with nothing. She had no idea about how to help her sister, but she also refused to back down and forfeit.

Maybe she should, though. Like mother, like son, Henry had also refused to leave his home and go to Emma's for a few more days, while things calmed down. Even though there had been no chance of Zelena using her new found magic on Henry —and since when would she have had it?— because Regina had always been present, the witch was still dangerous. People had made abundantly clear they needed no magic to hurt others.

And yet, she wasn't lying when she told her sister she wished she didn't have to put the cuff on her. She knew very well the feeling of helplessness one could feel with the cuff on. It was not only the suppression of your own magic, but also the magic around you. For someone as dependent on it as them, that feeling was terrible. But what else could she do? Her sister had managed to escape from her home within a week and she needed drastic solutions. If Zelena had been successful, she would have been as dangerous for the townspeople as the townspeople would have been for her. However, as she knew this thought would be of no comfort for the red-haired woman, Regina decided to save it.

Nevertheless, despite the risk, she couldn't just leave Zelena to rot in a cell. She just couldn't give up on her sister when she had been given so many chances. Still, her resolution did not make her feel less of a failure for not being able to transmit the hope that she herself had trouble believing in.

That morning after such a disastrous night, Regina carefully disentangled herself from Henry. Her son had suggested to sleep together in her bed and, for both of their sakes, she had not being able to refuse. She went down to the kitchen and started making breakfast for three.

When it was ready, she decided to let Henry sleep in and went to Zelena's room. The redhead was awake, although as the bed was made and the cover was a bit wrinkled, it was very possible that she had not sleep at all.

Looking at how pale and tired her sister looked, words failed to Regina when she opened her mouth to talk and so, the other woman took the opportunity.

"The door was locked."

After taking a second to process the words, Regina recovered swiftly and replied in her most neutral voice:

"I know. You're not allowed to wander around the house while Henry's staying."

"I see," replied Zelena coldly. "So is that the price for displeasing you and attempting to escape? My cell being smaller?"

Regina reminded to herself that her sister was still hurting from the loss of magic and ignored the provocation. The sting of knowing she really thought that remained, though.

"Come on, breakfast's ready. Remember what I told you. You can come willingly or I can drag you out."

Despite her look of complete contempt, Zelena complied. Once in the kitchen, she helped herself with the tea and the pancakes. Regina also chose to ignore the looks that from time to time, between bite and bite, she received. She didn't know if the other woman was looking for a trap or for a new chance to escape.

As they were finishing, Henry showed up. He offered a sleepy 'Morning' and a kiss to her mother. Zelena herself had probably not even been conscious of it, but she had jumped out of her chair the moment he had walked into the room. She hesitated, looking at the kitchen door as if it was an exit that she wasn't very sure she wanted to take. Henry seemed to solve her dilemma when he popped down on the chair next to her mother with a plate of pancakes and asked:

"Good morning, how are you feeling?"

* * *

Zelena had not forgotten that that boy had whispered reassurances while she had been in pain the night before. Instead of being afraid of the witch that had just managed to escape, he had come closer, had _touched_ her and had tried to calm her down. It was not something that Zelena would have expected and she suddenly felt more than a bit awkward not knowing how to act in front of him. She expected mistrust, and hate, and even disgust. But all Regina and Henry had given her so far had been a cautious wish to know her better.

She hesitated again, her mouth hanging open for a moment. She turned to look at Regina, maybe expecting —even hoping— to see a glare of reprobation, but the brunette only lifted an eyebrow. She was on her own there. Swallowing, the ginger was not completely successful in hiding a slight tremble in her voice. The cuff and all those unpredictable reactions made her feel very vulnerable.

"I'm fine."

"Really? Doesn't it hurt anywhere?" Without waiting for an answer, he turned to her mother. "I thought you weren't very good at healing spells, mom."

It was a forced conversation, but why anyone would force a conversation to include Zelena, it was lost to her, too. Regina took a second to answer, but she managed a totally nonchalant voice when she did, lighting up their chat.

"And I wasn't. Light magic makes them a little bit easier."

Not knowing very well what impelled her —maybe just the awkwardness being increased by the fact that mother and son were sitting whereas she was still standing—, she took her seat once more.

Henry kept rambling on about his baby uncle Neal, the old friends from school he had seen recently and other common topics. Regina intervened from time to time and, even if Zelena uttered no word, she couldn't help listening, because somehow, she felt her nephew's words were also directed at her.

* * *

Regina did not know how or why, but breakfast seemed to relax everyone's nerves. Zelena had gone back to her room quietly when they had finished eating and Henry was gone after a while, too. He would have lunch with the Charmings later. And so, for the time being, Regina needed something to do.

She settled on cleaning up the ground floor, as she had neglected it a little recently. However, midway through it, she felt a nagging need to check on Zelena. After a moment of hesitation, she finally went upstairs. She knocked on her door and, out of habit, she opened it anyway when there was no immediate answer. She found the redhead reading a book, although she put it down at once, looking up at Regina from the window. The brunette realised her emotionless mask was seriously damaged, as she could easily see a hint of uncertainty creeping up in her blue eyes. She doubted for a moment whether asking her to come down or just ordering her to. She didn't want to give her the chance to refuse and try to extend her seclusion, which would lead to another argument. So, she chose a 'You're coming with me' paying special attention not to use a hard voice. Even so, she saw the red-haired woman gulping as she rose from her seat.

"Henry's gone, right?"

"Yes," she answered, her voice clipped. She couldn't help feeling defensive when the other woman mentioned her son, but she hadn't meant to sound so harsh.

Regina would be lying if she said she was not thankful for her sister being calmer, but her behaviour was starting to border on the wariness of who is waiting for the other shoe to drop and the danger to reveal itself. She didn't want to see Zelena despiteful or scornful, but she didn't want to see her defeated or fearful, either.

"I was just cleaning and thought you'd welcome to have something to do," Regina stated to break the ice as they went downstairs.

"So is that what I'm going to be now? Your housemaid?"

From behind her, Zelena's voice had begun to rise and Regina sighed internally.

"I'm cleaning, too," was all she clarified.

It was met with no answer. Regina turned her head around and found an indignant look fixed on her, which she replied at by lifting her eyebrows.

Soon, Regina learnt that Zelena was actually good at cleaning. That gave her an idea of what background her sister could come from, because Regina herself had been quite mediocre at it at the first moments of the curse all those years ago. They mostly worked in silence, although the mayor was secretly relieved when Zelena snapped at some of her remarks. Regina wondered if she would not be going as insane as the ginger.

"Don't you really have any injuries from the fall?" she asked out of the blue when it was clear that her thoughts would not leave her alone soon.

"You know I don't," grumbled Zelena without looking up from the vase she was dusting.

"I really wasn't that good at healing spells before. Well, you _must_ know. After all, you were watching me for a very long time," the brunette said smugly.

"I was a better student," was the redhead's only comment. And yet, in it, she managed to convey all the hatred she felt towards Regina and Rumplestiltskin.

And Cora.

Zelena seemed to despise and long for Cora in equal measure. Regina was well acquainted with that feeling.

It was a conversation they needed to have and there would not be a better time —but there could certainly be worse ones. Thus, Regina decided to jump without a net and hoped that her next words would not send the older woman back to her room. That she would not burn the bridge even before building it —a persistent voice in her head kept reminding her how good she was at it.

"You can ask me about Cora, you know. If you really want to know anything at all."

There would have been a silence following those lines, but it was filled with the sound of a vase breaking into pieces. Regina paid no attention to it —she only had eyes for the redhead. Zelena took several seconds to look up and then, her gaze was plainly furious.

"So I can know what I lost?"

She was probably not expecting Regina's reply to be full of confidence.

"Yes."

Zelena said nothing. She looked like she was focusing on not staring at the brunette with her mouth hanging open. And so, Regina went on.

"So you know how lucky you were for not hearing your own mother saying she was destroying you for your own good. She gave you up, but she held me so close that it was impossible to breathe —it was impossible to grow out of her shadow. To grow up without fear. Neither of us was never enough for her, Zelena," and there, Regina tried not to think of 'You would have been enough,' because deep down she could never believe it anyway, "but it wasn't our fault."

By the end of it, both women had tears in their eyes that couldn't be held back for much longer. Regina dried hers briskly, allowing her sister privacy to do the same while she went to the kitchen and started to make lunch. Zelena joined her shortly after, with her eyes still a bit wet. The brunette waited for her to make some sort of comment, but no words came out of her lips. Regina respected that and both finished their lunch and the cleaning in an almost complete silence. The former Queen could only hope she was doing the right thing by waiting patiently for the other woman to make the first move instead of pushing. She might have done it before, but right then, the last thing she wished was to appear indifferent at her sister's eyes.

* * *

 **A/N: You're all so kind. Thanks so, so much to RoseRed, clearly-blue-eyed-witch, Resilient Heart of a Queen and anonymous for their reviews. They make me incredibly happy. :D**

 **I truly promise the 'Zelena & Henry & video games' scene is going to happen eventually. I know things are moving slowly, but with such a stubborn couple of protagonists, what else can you expect? ;)**

 **Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy the chapter. Please, let me know what you think!**


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Zelena had gone to her room as soon as the cleaning was over. Regina had let her do so without saying anything partly due to her own need of taking care of some business. Ever since a recently formed town council had accepted her as the provisional mayor, she had been working from home whenever she could. It was something that wouldn't change for the time being and she needed to remind herself of her need to run the town in her free time. Before that, however, she needed to make a call.

"Yes?" a female voice answered on the other end.

"Snow, it's Regina." She bit her lip, thinking about what she would say next. "Is Henry there?"

"Actually, no. He's out for ice cream with Emma, Neal and Killian. Do you need something? Is everything okay? Henry's told me things with Zelena were looking up."

"Everything is fine," Regina cut off the other brunette's rambling. "For that reason, I've thought maybe Henry would want to spend the night there with Emma." Regina realised she was fidgeting with her hands and made a conscious effort to stop. As Snow had said nothing, she went on. "He's being awfully protective and that's sweet, but he's just a child and... He had planned to spend last night at your apartment and he changed his mind because he saw things with Zelena were still a bit rocky. I love every time he announces he'll sleep at home, but I want him to spend the night here because he wants to, not because..." she drifted off, a little overwhelmed for having displayed such naked honesty. And she had yet to tell them how her sister had attempted to escape. Nevertheless, that sort of news was something to be told in person.

"You don't want him to worry about you. That's also very sweet of you, Regina, but in this family we all worry a lot for each other's security. All the time." She could hear the smile in her once stepdaughter's voice.

"I just want him to be happy. He shouldn't be worrying about grown-up problems. And I don't want him to feel like he has to choose. I've already done that in the past," she said firmly as Snow started to protest. She forced herself to keep on over her reassurances. Why she was opening up so much to the other woman, Regina could not even fathom. "I like when he feels he can spend time with all his family with no schedules involved. Besides, I know how it is to have the routine with your child suddenly shattered. The memories may be false, but the year Emma spent taking care of Henry is real. I don't want to be responsible for breaking any more bonds of any of them."

Her voice almost broke at the end and she stopped to take a silent deep breath. Meanwhile, Snow had started to talk with that high-spirited voice of hers, although it was milder, as if not to scare Regina.

"You won't. Don't worry, I'll pass the message on to Henry as soon as they come back. And I'll tell him to let you know whatever he decides."

"Thank you."

After that, there was an uncomfortable pause, where neither of them knew whether or not it was appropriate to end the conversation. Finally, Regina went on awkwardly.

"Are you... both... coping well? With the baby?" she asked, cringing as soon as the words left her lips. Snow didn't seem to pay any attention to it, though. She answered at once.

"Yes... It's difficult, but the most difficult thing is not to be expecting something bad to happen, you know? Letting Neal out of my sight, for instance. I know it's stupid, but—"

"I think it's brave," blurted out Regina, cutting her off. Then, she seemed to realise she had been dragged into the feeling talk vortex with Snow White and decided it was time to end their chat. "Well, I don't want to hold you up. I'd better be going. Have a good evening. And don't forget to tell Henry that."

"I think it's brave, too, what you're doing," said Snow ignoring Regina's crispy tone.

"Yes, well, unlike others, some of us have actual obligations and cannot spend the evening talking about feelings, dear."

Snow chuckled and they finally said their goodbyes. Regina resisted the impulse of cursing out loud the other woman for daring laugh. She really needed to take care of some matters.

* * *

Although there were a lot of books in her room and they all were unknown to her, Zelena was terribly bored of being always in there for the better part of the day. She had not enjoyed having to clean up the house for her sister. Even though to be honest, it had not been _for_ her sister, as Regina had also cleaned. And it had provided her with a distraction. In addition, it had been her who had gone upstairs as soon as it was over. There was no reason for staying down there in Regina's company, certainly, but she could not deny she was bored to death.

Sitting on the bed, she was seriously considering coming down to get food or just kill the time in any other way. Regina had said she could not wander around while Henry was in the house, but he wasn't at the moment. The brunette would have no motives to get angry, right?

The previous night, Zelena had finally understood what her situation was. She was a prisoner, but she was not in a cell. She was trusted by no one, but Regina let her eat with her son. In conclusion, she was living in a world where neither could she make the rules nor understand them, because they were entirely unpredictable. Thus, she was going through her situation completely blind.

And she wished she could be angrier at it. She had reasons: Regina had got everything in the end, as always, while Zelena had lost again. It was the brunette's fault she was powerless. Regina had taken away her magic and her freedom, and that alone would be enough to make her more furious than ever, to wish her sister had not ever existed. And still, each day she became more and more conscious that Regina was also the first one in her life who didn't cast her away when she became too much of a burden —she was a lost, wicked cause, but that mattered little there. Yes, both Glinda and Rumplestiltskin had accepted her at first, promising she could be happy if she did as they said. But Regina had offered her a second chance before Zelena did anything to deserve it. She would like to be angrier, she should be, but not even she could keep pretending things were so easy —nothing seemed to be black and white anymore.

It would have been easier if her attempt to escape had earned her some punishment. Then, she would know until where she could push and what her behaviour would bring her. Or even if Regina had sent her to the mental hospital or back to the sheriff station as she had threatened she would on other occasions. If only Regina had acted as Zelena expected her to.

But no. She had healed Zelena completely and they had gone back to a room she insisted it was Zelena's. And then, that very morning, she had allowed her to have breakfast in the kitchen as if nothing had happened just hours ago. And she had let Henry talk to her, too. It made no bloody sense. There were many things she could not comprehend about the brunette's behaviour, and that frightened her as well.

The only sure thing was that Regina would never hurt her in front of Henry, and probably anybody else. Beyond that, however, all remained uncertain to Zelena. And suddenly, she realised she was more afraid of uncertainty than anything else. She, who had always had loads of questions, was afraid of the answers all of a sudden. Like that afternoon, when Regina had talked about Cora.

Zelena would have liked to act as all the other times, to ignore the pain in Regina's eyes and voice —after all, her little sister was a great actress— and focus on her own pain, on her abandonment and the unfairness of her life. To yell at the former Queen that she was being a petty brat because she knew nothing about hardship. Yet, that time Regina had managed to explain a little more and, for a moment, Zelena had been forced to see herself in the mirror of her sister's life. A father for a mother, adoptive versus biological. And lies, lies and more lies.

She did not want to be at her sister's mercy, and she did not want to pity her or even understand her. She did not want to figure out why, even when she meant no threat and could easily be left forgotten in a cell, Regina still took her in. None of that mattered, because she needed no family. She had stopped needing anyone when she understood the world didn't need Zelena, either.

"I don't," she muttered. "I don't need any of them," she said louder, forcefully, while she whipped the tears that, stubborn, would not stop falling.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks so much to RoseRed, Resilient Heart of a Queen and the two guests for their reviews! I'm so glad you guys are enjoying it. To the second guest, don't get me wrong, but I just loved I made you feel so much [writers feed on tears; pass it on].**

 **Not much happens in this chapter but everyone needs a break from all the drama —if that's even possible with Zelena, of course. :P To be honest, I just love getting inside the characters' minds. Anyway, I look forward to knowing what you think!**


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

In the end, Regina came before she went out. There was barely an hour left until dinner time and Zelena rightly guessed the other woman had come to ask her to help with the evening meal. She was calmer by then —distressing doubts were still swimming in her head, though. Once more, she debated with herself whether to put up some sort of fight or just go with Regina. She was bored and tempted to give in, but she shouldn't make things so easy for the brunette after she had put the cuff on her. So, for that time she settled on a sort of halfway point.

"I'm not hungry."

Regina sighed, as if saying 'Not this again,' which made Zelena peek at her. The former monarch sat down on the chair, confirming once more that not being a queen for more than three decades had not made her less regal. Zelena felt the familiar sting of jealousy and, for once in her life, she tried to ignore it. She didn't feel like fighting at all.

"We've already gone through this—"

"I'm really not hungry," Zelena cut off looking away again.

She could feel Regina's eyes on her, staring at her intently, but she did not allow herself to fidget under her gaze.

"We're alone tonight."

She looked to her left, out the window, but it was her only reaction. Several seconds more passed in silence.

"Is there anything you want to talk about?"

Zelena had never heard such gentleness in Regina's voice and very, very few times said emotion directed at her. To her horror, it made her eyes burn. She had no other option but to look down and get a grip on herself protected behind a curtain of red curls. Regina waited in silence until she could finally look up and the unshed tears were nothing more than an embarrassing memory.

"Henry... Your son doesn't seem the cunning type, does he?"

Zelena would have wanted to cringe at how awkward the words were as they fell out of her lips, but she forced herself not to back down and keep her detached mask on. The only sign of surprise that Regina showed at the unexpected topic was lifting one eyebrow, almost lazily.

"I suppose he isn't."

"Then why does he...?" she blurted out before she could think better of it. She had been wondering why Henry would be willing to talk to her, but in the end, she was not brave enough to display so much bewilderment at such a common thing, and instead asked, "Why is he being so nice to me?"

"He's like that," said Regina, suddenly smiling unrestrained. "He just wants everyone to be happy."

"But why me?" the redhead insisted.

"Well, you actually _are_ his aunt."

"But I'm not... Not really..." Zelena stammered out.

"Like I'm not his real mother?" Regina's smile disappeared at once. Her eyes went cold and her voice rose, acquiring a dangerous edge —a more familiar sight to both of them. "What do you really want to talk about, Zelena?"

If Regina expected a confrontation like those on the fist days, she was disappointed, though. Zelena mustered up all her poise —born of not wanting to make it more humiliating than what already was— and looked her in the eye. She had little to lose and she might think better if she got some thoughts out of her mind. And yet, her confidence started to waver as soon as she opened her mouth.

"Is it possible... I mean, is it _really_ possible to love them as your own? An adopted child."

Her last clarification was unnecessary, but her voice was trembling despite her best efforts and Regina didn't call her on it. The brunette only sighed for the second time and got up. Zelena had the sudden fear that, after all, it was going to be her stupid question what would drive Regina away. Maybe the younger woman was expecting some question about the cuff, about her future. Of course she would not consider wasting her time discussing family topics with Zelena. However, as the redhead thought of having wasted her chance to get a straight answer to her situation, Regina stepped closer and sat beside her on the bed, going so far as to take her hand. With the other, Zelena clumsily wiped the tears that against her will had started to fall.

"It is so," said Regina, softly. Then, frowning a little, she added, "It should be so. In the same way that biological parents should love their children, so should adoptive parents. And it's never the child's fault if it's not this way," she stated, stressing the last line.

She knew the brunette was attempting to look her in the eye, but she did not lift her head. It was difficult to try to get a grip on herself and then, look back up at Regina anyway not feeling ashamed of such weakness because she had failed miserably to do so.

"But how can I..." Zelena swallowed. For the time being, she had managed to stop crying, but her eyes were still shining and her throat felt uncomfortably tight. "How could I expect to have been loved, to have been enough for my father... my adoptive father, when even Cora gave me up being just a baby?"

"You can't blame other people for one's actions. And while we must own our mistakes, it's not our fault what Cora did." Regina gave her hand a firm squeeze, as to underline her words. "We're not her decisions."

* * *

After that, Regina let her words hang in the air for several moments, breaking the silence then by saying that it was already time to start making dinner. She gave a last squeeze to Zelena's hand, for the red-haired woman had not made a single try to pull it away.

Zelena nodded a bit absent-mindedly and both of them made it to the kitchen. The former witch stood there awkwardly, unsure if the heartfelt confessions that had just taken place should mean a change in her everyday attitude as well. Regina barely gave her time to think about it, shoving a plastic container with leftovers into her shocked hands.

"Put it in the microwave for a minute."

Then, she turned around and began to take out some lettuce of the fridge. Hearing no sound from her sister, she turned again, though. The ginger stood on the same spot, looking down at the plastic box.

"What's the matter?"

The question startled Zelena out of her thoughts. Her alarmed gaze towards Regina made the brunette huff a laugh.

"Okay, I'm teaching you the perks of this technological world now, Greenie."

Zelena threw a glare in her direction and her bright blue eyes darkened to show her lack of amusement. She tightened her grip on the container slightly —it had been an obvious good-hearted joke, she would make a fool of herself if she overreacted, but the redhead was not sure whether she should let jabs of that kind pass. She did know she didn't want them to feel so at ease with each other that they could make such jokes and then laugh them off.

"Just because I'm not trying to kill you right now doesn't mean I don't want to."

"If you say so," retorted Regina. It came out as deceivingly playful, because her smirk was rough, even a bit dangerous —like a warning that she could drop pleasantries any time she wanted, too.

Despite the initial confrontation, she did show Zelena how to operate the microwave and then, during dinner, Regina was zapping channels and casually explaining what each button was for. By the end of the night, both of them were lightly bickering and acting like the talk upstairs before dinner had never existed. Yet, it had —it felt like a wall that stopped them from completely going back to their former dynamic.

* * *

"Do you want to watch a movie?" Regina asked when the kitchen had been cleaned up and it started to be time for bed.

Zelena had to stop to think for a moment about the new concepts she had learned that day. Movie was the story told in one sitting, while on a TV series the story was divided into a number of episodes. She didn't know how long this movie would be, although given what time it was, it could not be very long. Nevertheless, she chose to decline the offer and step back to the safety of her bedroom. In other words, of course.

"I've got no interest in your modern inventions. I'd better go to bed now."

As she was going upstairs, she heard Regina's voice once more.

"Should I bring some more books and candles to your room, then?"

Zelena decided she should not bother to dignify that with an answer.

Downstairs, Regina was fighting a smile. She had no idea where that willingness to provoke her sister when the other was acting so calm was coming from all of a sudden. For all she knew, and if TV shows were to be believed, it could be genetic —it was just what siblings did.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks very much to clearly-blue-eyed-witch and karen for their reviews! I know I don't stop repeating myself, but every one of them truly makes my day when I read it. :)**

 **I'm in a bit of a hurry, so I'll keep it brief. Hope you enjoy and anyway, please, review. Any comment is very welcome!**


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Regina had finally gone out with Robin that morning and she had bought him a mobile phone. They spent the morning at the park with Roland —she had been explaining how the device worked while the child played. She was already getting used to the former thief making her laugh at the smallest things. It was terrifying the warm feeling that invaded her every time she looked at Robin, and when he held her hand and whispered things in her ear for the only purpose of seeing her smile. His love made her feel like a teenager, carefree and excited, but it was his solid presence which made her feel safe —a place where she had truly no need of wearing any kind of mask.

It was almost noon, and Henry would be there soon. They had agreed on meeting at the park and then heading home for lunch. She had an invitation for Robin and Roland to join them about to fall from her lips when she saw her son coming closer accompanied by Tinkerbell.

Coming up to them, Henry told them he had just found the blonde wandering around the park and thought she may want to say hello to his mother. Tink unexpectedly blushed a little and said between laughs that she needed to find a job. At that moment, it occurred to Regina that Storybrooke was as unfamiliar to Tink as it was to Robin. She hadn't really thought about it before because the fairy had adapted to the local attire and kind of residence far faster than her true love.

It also occurred to her that Tinkerbell was as alone then as both of them had been when they met. She resolved she should be more thoughtful from then on. And so, Regina made up her mind swiftly.

"How about the three of us catch up tonight? We can have dinner at my place," she blurted out.

Robin and Tink seemed pleased, even if a little surprised, too. They agreed quickly as Henry lifted his eyebrows in a perfect imitation of her own usual sassy attitude. A second later, he broke into a grin, though. He was just happy to see his mother had other people besides him.

The adults fixed an hour for that evening and then, Regina went away with Henry towards their home.

"I'll sleep at grandma's tonight," he announced once they were alone.

Regina turned to look at him, suddenly worried. It had not crossed her mind he would be upset.

"That's not necessary, Henry. We can still have dinner together as we had planned," she replied hastily. "I just... I thought you liked Robin and Tink?"

Henry shook his head smiling, as if his mother had not understood him at all. He put a reassuring hand on her arm before speaking.

"I do. And I'd like to have dinner with them some other time. But I'm sure you'd have lots of serious things to talk about tonight. I'm going to let you guys catch up today so I can hear the fun stories next time we meet," he grinned.

Regina smirked with a hint of fondness, too, and drew Henry closer to kiss him on the head.

"My wise, brave prince," she whispered.

"I'll come back in the morning for breakfast, though. And I'd love pancakes."

Regina burst out laughing as she bumped shoulders with him.

"Deal."

* * *

It was during that lunch when Regina announced they would be having dinner with Robin and Tinkerbell. Even Henry saw the apprehension that briefly crossed Zelena's eyes. Being the child he still was, he hurried to reassure her, thus also bringing her fears out in the open.

"Don't worry. They're mom's friends and pretty cool."

Zelena swallowed the food in her mouth with some difficulty and managed to put on a strained smile.

"I'm sure they are."

Regina lifted an eyebrow at this.

"What?" the redhead asked defensively.

"Do you even know what 'cool' means?"

"Do you even know how to talk without being rude?"

Their staring contest was interrupted by Henry's chuckle, which made Regina smile and tension leave Zelena's body.

"Have you already taught her how to play video games?" he asked his mother, already knowing her answer but wanting to keep it casual. At Regina's headshake, he suggested, "We should spend the afternoon playing."

"Don't you have homework to do?" But Regina's question was just mere pretense and, to Zelena's dismay, she agreed quickly. She probably missed those afternoons with her son.

Shortly after they finished lunch, they found themselves in the living room in front of the TV. The redhead sat on the armchair, while Regina settled on the couch. Henry, warily yet resolutely, approached his aunt under the attentive look of his mother to hand her out a strange device. Zelena had to give it to him, he concealed his nervousness pretty well.

As Henry went to sit next to his mother, the former witch became fully aware of the fact that an afternoon of playing video games was something the two of them were used to sharing. And she had suddenly been included in that routine. Barely repressing a head shake, she forced herself to come back to reality and leave that train of thought for later, when she was alone in her room. Discreetly, she glanced aside in order to see how Regina and Henry held the object. There was no need, though, for Henry immediately said it was called a controller and, as soon as the TV was on, he started to explain how it worked.

Soon, Zelena was enjoying herself greatly. Video games were like nothing she had ever experienced. It truly seemed like magic how the characters on the screen obeyed every time they hit a button —okay, mostly they obeyed, but she was getting the hang of it quite fast. Henry was really good, barely taking his eyes away from the screen, whereas Regina seemed to be more focused on his facial responses, his shouts of happiness and groans when he lost. Time flew and, a couple of hours later, Regina excused herself to go to the bathroom. Zelena could not really blame her for the warning glare that was sent in her direction.

"You're better than I thought," Henry said when they started a new race on Mario Kart. His nerves had disappeared in favour of focusing on the video game.

"Uh, I... Thanks. I guess," she replied.

Her concentration on the game was lessened by the fact that her anxiety did exceed any other thing she could currently feel. Regina had let her alone with her son for the first time and she didn't know what to make of it. She had the damn cuff on her, but still... Henry seemed relatively at ease with her. She didn't know how she should feel about that, either.

They played for a while in silence. Zelena was trying to summon up her courage to ask him how _he_ felt —about her, about second chances and villainous redemptions as well. Nevertheless, when she was about to say the words, Regina walked in. Her courage failed her as swiftly as so many things in her life had done before.

Regina watched them for another bit, before stating it was enough gaming for a day. Henry groaned, even though deep down he knew his mother was somewhat right. He told her he wanted to meet some friends that evening before dinner, and she agreed, reminding him to be punctual at Snow's apartment. Thus, he immediately hurried to disappear upstairs to take a shower. Regina's smile was still on her face after he was gone.

Zelena fumbled with the words in her head for a moment, feeling slightly out of place witnessing such a domestic scene. Finally, she managed to say:

"I suppose I should get to my room now."

She had not hesitated, nor her voice held any particular kind of feeling. And still, Regina looked at her in surprise, as if she had trouble believing why she would say such a thing.

"You don't have to. I'm going to check I have all I need for dinner. You're welcome to come with me."

Zelena bit her lip, giving her a curt nod. She followed her to the kitchen, where the brunette began to take out several ingredients in silence. It was indeed Regina who broke it first.

"I'm glad he's beginning to make friends here," she confessed in a quiet voice. "His family... Neither of the sides really had the best track record on making friends, but Emma said he had them in New York." A small pause followed, because Regina didn't seem to find the right words. Finally, she settled on adding, "I'm just glad he'd got them here, too."

She fell silent again and Zelena gave no reply. She had no clue of what to say. Regina checked all the ingredients on the counter, mentally going over the recipe at the same time as she kept talking.

"It's my fault, you know?" The bitterest of the smiles showed up on her face. "I'm a very closed person and I didn't give him the best role model. And then, he found the truth, found his other family. And we all fought so much that he didn't have any time to be with kids of his age. He spent all the time with grown-ups, trying to solve their problems."

Regina shut up abruptly, realising she had never meant to say so much.

"Why are you telling me this?" Zelena blurted out, asking the only question that was in her mind since Regina started talking.

Regina had her back to her, but her shoulders were tense with restrained emotion. She had gone very still and, for a moment, Zelena truly feared that the younger woman would break in front of her. Or she might even attempt to kill Zelena in an outburst. She didn't know what to do in any case. However, Regina moved again, slowly turning to her. She answered with an amused smile that effectively hid whatever she was feeling seconds before.

"Just so you know what you're getting into with this family."

* * *

 **A/N: Hi, guys! Finally we've reached the video game scene. :) I've tried to extend it a little, because some of you had a lot of interest in seeing this. I'm sorry I haven't been able to do more —I've got very little free time those days. But I hope you enjoyed it anyway.**

 **Thanks to dorypop, clearly-blue-eyed-witch, Onceuponlover, RoseRed, Resilient Heart of a Queen and vietnameseoncer for leaving a review. I appreciate your support and your honesty. I try my best to stay true to the characters, but it's also true that, in the end, characters end up developing in a different way than what we see on the show because they also have different life experiences. And yes, I agree with RoseRed (please, make your comments as long as you want to; I love reading them :D), that's the great thing about fan fiction: we get to see things we won't be able to watch on the show. Everyone has different tastes, but I'm very happy to see that a lot of you are liking the way this story is developing. :)**


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Zelena wondered if Regina did it on purpose. If dropping those mentions of family had an ulterior motive. It certainly seemed the most plausible explanation. Besides, it always left her defenceless. She only could come up with sarcastic comebacks, but they were sort of strident when they were confronted to the naked honesty of Regina's smile. Thus, in the end she would shut up and feel like her sister was pulling her leg.

Henry had come down half an hour later. He had stayed with them, chatting for a while before going out. Then, she and Regina had been left alone to finish the main course of the dinner: lasagne. Once it was in the oven, Regina had suggested they went upstairs to take a shower and dress up. So there she was, standing in front of a wardrobe full of diverse items and feeling more out of place than ever.

She had been wearing jeans and t-shirts for the past days, as her previous outfits were rather uncomfortable to sit around. Now, she needed to 'dress up,' but truthfully, she didn't feel like wearing her old clothes either. She ran a hand across her hair, taking out a black skirt and examining it closer. A soft knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.

"Regina?" she asked without thinking. She wanted to berate herself for it. Of course it was Regina, there was no one else in the house.

The door opened and the brunette peeked her head in.

"I was just coming to see how you were doing..." She drifted off as she saw the other woman still wearing her robe and looking at the wardrobe with a concerned frown on her face. "What's wrong?"

Right away, a blush spread across Zelena's face.

"Nothing. Nothing's wrong," she said quickly. "I'm just... getting these."

The redhead threw the skirt and a dark green blouse on her bed. However, Regina opened the door wider and leant against the frame, not convinced at all.

"Do you need some clothes?"

Her voice was nonchalant. She was clearly trying not to make much of it, but despite her sister's consideration —or perhaps because of it—, Zelena's blush grew hotter.

"No, of course not," she snapped at once.

"Of course," repeated Regina rolling her eyes.

Then, she strode into the room, took Zelena by her wrist and, without a word, went back to her own room with the redhead on her tail. They had already reached the corridor when Zelena managed to recover from her astonishment. She tried to free her hand, but Regina only tugged harder —she was determined.

They only halted before the brunette's wardrobe. There was an extremely uncomfortable moment when, as Regina let her go, they both noticed at once that she had been gripping her right wrist and, beneath the sleeve, the cuff. That was the reason why it didn't really matter how surprisingly kind Regina seemed at times, or how tempting the illusion of being no prisoner in that house could become. She had a physical, very painful reminder on her all the time.

They looked at each other for a moment, but then Zelena looked away, tugging her sleeve down. There was no point in going over this topic again —Regina had had her reasons, but it did not make it hurt less. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the brunette burying herself in searching among her clothes, not saying a word until she took out two dresses. One was grey, with long sleeves, whereas the other was blue and had no sleeves.

"I think either of these will fit you all right," she said, handing them out to her. However, Zelena did not make a single move to take them. She stood there, unable to conceal her surprise and disbelief. After a few awkward seconds, Regina decided to put her out of her misery and went on, "What? Not so funny when they're given to you?"

Those words finally made her react. Slowly, as if she was still half expecting for it to turn out some sort of prank, she took the dresses out of Regina's hands.

"Thanks, sis," she said quietly, not quite meeting her gaze.

It was probably the first time that Zelena genuinely thanked Regina for anything. For a moment, her fleeting bitterness over the cuff was completely forgotten. How could it not be? Regina was lending her things just so she could feel more comfortable. She had been doing so from the start.

"You're welcome. I'll be downstairs if you need anything," was her reply, as she smoothed down her red dress before leaving behind an increasingly confused Zelena.

* * *

When she came down in the blue dress, the blonde fairy was already there, talking to the brunette. She tried not to be self-conscious of the cuff, wondering if she should have gone for the long-sleeved dress instead. But then, Tink greeted her with a bright smile, as if Zelena was a guest at her friend's house —as if the last time they had dinner together had not been an absolute disaster. Robin arrived shortly after and Regina even introduced them formally. Then, the four of them sat at the table.

It was a more relaxed meal than any previous they had had without Henry's presence. Tink and Robin acted as a buffer for any sort of tension that there could be between the sisters and, even though Zelena didn't talk much, awkward moments were scarce. The redhead knew both Robin and Tink were behaving civilly for Regina's sake, but she couldn't help feeling a little warm sensation because of the fact that she was dining with strangers and they were acting civilly towards _her_. She didn't show it, of course, but she replied to them politely —if curtly— in return.

Later on, the main topic revolved around possible jobs for Robin and Tinkerbell —and Robin actually choked on his drink when Regina suggested Emma could use another deputy at the sheriff's station. Once the laughter had died off, he shook his head smiling and focused on Tink, who had been a little gloomier about the subject earlier.

"And why don't you look for a job at the town hall?" he asked pointing at his girlfriend, who was still grinning at him mischievously.

At once, Regina's face changed as a look of realisation crossed it.

"That's actually a great idea."

"You seem surprised."

"What can you expect from a thief who lives in the woods?"

"What are you two talking about?" Tink cut in the banter, bewildered.

"You've just got yourself a job," said Regina, turning to her friend with a bright smile.

Zelena had seen it coming and hardly managed to suppress an eye roll when Tinkerbell gasped openly.

"What?" she asked.

"You can start as my secretary, but what I'd really need is a PR—"

"I've got no idea —or experience— about how to do any of that!" the fairy cut her off. She seemed to be on the verge of panicking, and was not attempting to hide it very hard.

"Don't worry, you can learn. Everyone can learn," the brunette replied soothingly.

Regina's glance at her caught Zelena by surprise and she quickly swallowed the food in her mouth to reply. However, when she opened it, she hadn't the faintest idea about what she wanted to say. Fortunately, it went unnoticed because Regina kept talking like nothing had happened.

"Zelena wasn't even familiarised with a TV a few days ago. This afternoon, Henry showed her how to play video games and now she's as good at it as I am."

The blonde looked her up and down, clearly seeing there something she hadn't considered before. Robin smiled a little, and Regina was simply... happy. Why, Zelena did not dare pinpoint exactly. She opened her mouth again, but still unsure of what to answer, she covered it by taking a sip of wine.

Dinner kept running smoothly. They kept chatting well after it was over, until Tinkerbell excused herself saying it was late and she was getting sleepy. Robin did not seem ready to call it a day just yet, though —and, as her sister walked her friend out, Zelena wondered if she should just go upstairs and leave them alone. Still, it seemed somehow inappropriate. Since she hadn't made a fuss earlier, she was not very willing to mess it up now.

Thus, they stood in the middle of the dining room, where they had ended again after cleaning up the table. To her dismay, Robin decided to break the awkward silence.

"So, how are you doing?"

He was visibly uncomfortable and she mentally scoffed at his obvious need to make small talk. She may not be confronting the world non-stop those days, but it did not mean she would put up with false niceties.

"Hasn't Regina been reporting to you?" she snapped, with so much bitterness that it even surprised her.

Robin did not seem very taken aback, though.

"I prefer everyone speaks for themselves."

Zelena bit her lip as she turned around to occupy her hands with some object on the table.

"You're right. She constantly contradicts, even when she's speaking for herself. I don't want to imagine how she must mess up when she speaks for others."

"Why do you say that?"

Zelena could only detect good intentions and curiosity in his voice. She hated it was all that it was needed to make her keep talking.

"Because... Because she says that blood doesn't make a family, th— that family is much more than it. And so, it doesn't need blood at all. You see, she's already got her little family without a single blood-relative. But... But if that's true, if one shouldn't care less about blood relationships in this business, then why does she insist on us being sisters? I— It doesn't make sense." She was starting to breathe laboriously —the effort of putting her confusing thoughts into words and the anxiety that came with them had taken a toll on her.

There was no immediate answer. And then, the voice that replied was not Robin's.

"Because blood may not be everything, but surely it can be a good start sometimes."

Regina's voice was soft and gentle, but even so, Zelena turned to face her rather startled.

"I— I should leave you two alone."

"What? No, Zelena, of course not! You don't have to..."

But she was already climbing up the stairs as fast as she could without actually running.

* * *

 **A/N: Hi there! Sorry for taking a few more days than usual to update. I think the rest of chapters will be uploaded once a week and not every four/five days as I used to. I just like to take a look at them before uploading them and I've barely got free time to do so** ** **lately**.**

 **And I have a couple more of things to say (so sorry in advance because I think this will be a long author's note). But before, I'd like to thank clearly-blue-eyed-witch and RoseRed for reviewing. Your reviews are lovely! :) I'm glad you both liked the game I chose. I don't** ** **really** play any, so if you want to recommend me some game for Zelena and Henry to play when she's got a handle on it, I'd be delighted! In the meanwhile, I'm borrowing ****clearly-blue-eyed-witch's headcanon and Zelena chooses Baby Daisy every time they play Mario Kart. xD And thank you for pointing out that mistake, RoseRed. Already corrected it. :) If you ever see something wrong or confusing or that it just makes no sense, don't hesitate to tell me!  
**

 **Well, we're getting closer to the end. There will be two more chapter after this. Good news (I guess? If you aren't tired of me yet xD): I'm writing a second part. Bad news: I can be a kind of slow writer because corrections take me a lot of time. Plus, I'll be very busy for these next two months (although I usually write more than I should when I have exams; or rather, having exams inspires me more than it should). I've tried to look for a beta and I'd really, really like to have an English native speaker looking over this, but there are so many on this page that I don't even know how to choose one. So I'll leave this here, in case someone could be interested, because it would be really cool to have this beta'd while I write the sequel. :) (And then have the sequel beta'd before publishing it, of course.)**

 **I think that's all. I'll shut up now. x) Hope you enjoy reading and please, review!**


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Zelena heard the occasional muffled laughter, which was enough to feed the jealousy and anger that she didn't _know_ how to stop feeling.

Regina had become _so_ nice. She had been the villain of her story, like Zelena. And like Zelena, she had wasted whatever second chances she had been offered. But then, unlike her, Regina had finally taken one. And she had formed a family and moved on from the dark shadows of her past. Seeing her own inability to do the same, Zelena could not help resenting her for just being able to laugh again.

And for the first time in her life, she wished she could choose whether to be jealous or not.

Sitting on the bed, she threw across the room the first thing she grabbed —a cushion. She was crying her eyes out and did not really see where she aimed. She felt so overwhelmed for so many thoughts that she had done nothing to stop the tears. The cushion missed anything breakable and so, it took out from her any satisfaction she could have got for destroying her belongings.

Belongings that Regina had given to her.

A growl came out of her throat, but all her willingness to fight seemed to escape with it as well. Feeling utterly defeated, she lay face down on the bed, trusting the bedspread would stifle her sobs.

She must have fallen sleep, because the next thing she knew was that someone was knocking on her door. She hardly had enough strength left to startle.

"Yes?" the redhead said when her brain managed to process the information. To her horror, she realised her voice gave away she had been crying.

"Zelena? Are you okay?" her sister asked from the other side.

"I'm— I'm all right," she answered, trying to put some strength in her voice. Something must still have been off, though, because Regina did not open the door and walked in like she owned the place, as she tended to do.

"Are you sure? Can I come in?" Regina's voice was plainly worried and Zelena was starting to feel a bit stupid because she still had a hard time believing it was genuine every time.

"Yes, I'm fine. And I'd prefer if you didn't. I was actually asleep." Well, at least that last part was not a lie.

Regina took several seconds to reply.

"Okay, sorry for waking you up. I'm going to bed now." She seemed to hesitate before adding, "Goodnight, sis."

Zelena did not answer. She remained where she was for some moments after that. Then, when she heard Regina's bedroom door click shut, she got up. She went to the bathroom, hoping to clear her mind up a little splashing water on her face. As she dried herself with a towel, she took a long, pensive look at her reflection. After some seconds gazing at her tired blue eyes, she shook her head slightly to snap herself out of it and hurried to finish. She was actually about to turn around when she spotted it —unmistakable, creeping up her neck...

She had no clue about how she managed to get to her room without fainting.

* * *

Regina thought they were making some sort of progress, advancing. Small, tiny steps, yes, but steps nevertheless —hopefully, towards a brighter future than that when Zelena was constantly trying to wipe her off existence and all Regina thought about was how to stop the Wicked Witch. As much as she despaired sometimes, now she knew how powerful small steps could be.

However, she had been wrong. Extremely, sorely, disappointingly wrong.

Zelena and she were going nowhere. Recently, the redhead had been cranky again. She was reluctant to engage in conversation even when Regina tried to get a rise out of her. She had thought the dinner with Tink and Robin had been a good idea, but she was wrong about that, too, because it was since then that Zelena had built up all her defences and masks once more.

Regina was quite convinced that the resentment for putting the cuff on her had finally blown up, making Zelena refuse any clean slate that she would offer her. Even so, the brunette could not help wondering if it was that simply she was not the woman for the job. Perhaps what the ginger needed was someone more patient, who knew better how to resist bad thoughts and create healthier habits. Tink had stated very clearly that all that was nonsense —precisely because Regina knew what it was to fight darkness, she knew better than anyone else the way towards change. Snow had just shrugged the last time they had met, saying that each person was different, but that she had no doubts the mayor could control the situation. The most important thing was not to lose hope. Regina reminded herself that one of the redemption clauses was not to choke Snow every time she said that word.

So, things had been tough, but nothing had really exploded yet. Regina could only hope that Henry was not there when it did. Her son had been spending the nights at home those last days, but he had been spared of Zelena's most aggressive answers for the moment. She wished she could say it was because her sister was calmer in her son's presence, but in truth, it was because Zelena had started to avoid seeing Henry once more.

She was truly dreading that night's dinner. Zelena had been even more hostile and snappy that afternoon. For a moment, when she came into the dining room with her sister and Henry smiled up at them from the table, Regina allowed herself to believe that everything would be fine, that the former witch would not do anything foolish that evening.

Everything went actually to hell only a few minutes later.

Zelena was nervously fidgeting with her hair —another new habit— when Regina offered her more wine. It was a harmless enough question, but the redhead managed to get a fight out of it.

"How wouldn't I? It's the only thing that allows to swallow what you call a meal," she snapped.

Henry frowned at the odd behaviour. And so, even if she had not been so tired of putting up with Zelena's bitterness, she would have replied back anyway. She was not going to allow the redhead to talk like that in front of her son.

"What's the matter with the food? You've never got a complaint about it." At least, any serious complain. What did her sister think she was going to achieve going back to the first days?

"Just didn't want to give you any excuses to kill me, dear," she said, smiling a bit maniacally. She seemed proud of her little stunt. This was the woman who had learnt to love manipulation and mind games, and not the woman who, just a few days ago, out of desperation and insecurity, had asked Regina if someone could love an adopted child as much as a biological one. "Even more so after you put this blasted cuff on me."

Her boy paled, no doubt suddenly remembering that the woman who was his mother had also been the Evil Queen once upon a time. A counterpart who, in fact, would have killed someone just for showing her such disrespect.

Regina tightened her grip on the cutlery in an attempt to keep her emotions in check. It failed and the fork and the knife crashed on the plate a second later, clattering loudly. The sound was muffled by her answer, though.

"You lying bastard," she said strongly, her voice as icy as winter.

Regina got up, her equally cold eyes looking down at her sister, who had lost her smile. She did not see her son gulping, incapable of saying a word.

Her temperament ran hot at the moment, but seeing the tiniest flick of fear cross Zelena's face neither made it explode nor soothed it. She spent some very tense seconds calming herself down, not looking away from the redhead once. Then, she spoke in the same chilly voice, although her tone was more controlled.

"If you don't want to eat, then fine. Go to your room. We've finished here."

Colour had drained from Zelena's face, but Regina did not stop to analyse anything. The mayor watched her get on her feet slowly and then, out of the living room briskly. She only sat down again once her sister was gone, letting out a tired sigh as she did so. When she looked up at her son, he was staring back at her with wide eyes. Worried about how he could have interpreted the argument, she hurried to explain herself.

"Henry, I wasn't going to do anything, I s—"

"She was trying to provoke you, right?" he cut her off.

Regina smiled a little, deeply relieved that he had understood needing no further explanations.

"I think so. But I don't know why."

"She's been acting weird lately. Maybe something happened without us realising?"

"Maybe," Regina agreed, a bit absent-mindedly. She was already thinking of possible solutions. "I'll talk to her tonight, don't worry. This can't happen again."

Henry smiled, wishing her good luck. And despite her sister, Regina felt the world right again with just the smile of her little prince.

That night, after Henry had gone to bed, Regina knocked softly on Zelena's door. There was no answer, but Regina was not going to let her sister fester her anger all night. She opened the door and was surprised when only darkness met her. It had not crossed her mind the thought that the redhead might be already asleep. As her eyes became used to the dark surroundings, she could distinguish Zelena's shape on the bed. She was not under the covers, but she had at least changed into her pyjamas.

Regina hesitated for a couple of seconds, but then sneaked into the bedroom. She came closer to her sister and saw tear tracks on her face shining under the moonlight. It was not unexpected, but it unsettled her. She fidgeted with her hands, because she knew they needed to have this conversation as soon as possible, but at the same time a just-awake Zelena may not be the best option. She made up her mind when she glanced at her sister's face again. She sat on the bed next to her and shook her shoulder lightly.

Zelena took a while to wake up, but when she did, she startled badly. Her first reaction was to sit on the bed at the same time she tried to put some distance between her and the nocturnal intruder.

"It's okay. It's me, Regina. It's okay," the brunette whispered, hurrying to calm her down as she reached out for her.

Then, she thought better of it and leant back to switch on the lamp on the bedside table. Regina hoped it would help to relax the other woman. However, when light fell on them, Regina saw something that left her with her mouth hanging wide open.

"Zelena..." she muttered, barely pointing at where the pyjama shirt had moved out of place, revealing a little of her cleavage.

The redhead looked down and paled right away. She tried to cover herself as she jumped off the bed. Meanwhile, Regina was still staring at her in shock.

"You're..."

She couldn't repeat the same words that she had said over a year ago. She did not want to state the obvious again so rudely, but the truth was undeniable: her sister was turning green.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks very much to Onceuponlover, RoseRed and the guest for reviewing!** ** **I love reading what you liked most and** I'm very happy to see you're enjoying the story. Glad to know Zelena sounded more relaxed in the last chapter. :) And I agree with the guest, blue is her color —I think this will keep showing in my writing. x) I just love Bex's eyes, they are unreal.**

 **Thanks for your suggestions! I've created a list with all those ideas from readers that I think can make it to the story. I can't guarantee anything, but we'll see if I can get Zelena dancing in the living room and Tink and Regina bickering about her job as secretary.**

 **Again, thank you for reading. Let me know what you think!**


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

It was truly over. Or perhaps it had been over since Regina had sent her to her room as an unrulier child, saying 'We've finished here.' Why else would her sister wake her up in the middle of the night? Well, not her sister. They had never been really sisters —and Zelena was not Regina's responsibility.

None of it mattered anymore. If Regina had ever thought of forgiving her, it was ruled out now. She had finally seen the green that had become more and more difficult to conceal with her hair or clothes as the days passed.

Still, Zelena was determined not to let the brunette see her break. She stood there, her head high and a look of pure defiance in her eyes, while the other woman was still trying to get a grasp of the current situation.

"You're..."

Regina looked like she would not be completing her line that time.

"Yes, dear. It seems my insides are starting to show," sneered Zelena, echoing the words that Rumplestiltskin had told her once, long ago, when the green had first appeared.

"But it can't be. You don't have any magic," Regina replied, refusing to believe what her eyes were so clearly showing her.

The other woman finally reacted and got off the bed. Involuntarily, Zelena took a step back.

"But it _is_ , sis," she snapped with all the venom she could muster up. She thought she saw Regina flinching ever so little, although she could not be sure.

"Okay," said Regina. To Zelena, she sounded like she would if she was approaching a skittish horse. It irritated her, but it was also soothing and reassuring, and she could not help but keep listening. "We'll figure it out. We'll find the reason and then, we can think of a solution."

Those were not the words that she had believed so firmly she would hear. It could not be real, there had to be some hidden purpose that she was not seeing. Nevertheless, as she repeated to herself those utterly unexpected words, Regina continued talking and coming closer.

"Is that why you've been acting so strange these days?"

The brunette was almost touching her and she exploded before giving her the chance to do so.

"I haven't been acting strange! I'm the bloody Witch of the West! I'm like that, even if you goodies won't believe it. I'm wicked, Regina!" Her voice broke with the last word and all her wrath deflated at once.

She was just tired —tired of everything. She only wanted the world to leave her alone.

She felt she was falling to pieces. The next seconds would always be a blurry mess in her memory. Suddenly, she became conscious that she had begun to cry at some point. And when she did, she also realised she was sitting again and she was not alone as she had wished earlier. Arms were surrounding her and a hand caressed her hair. She had also her face against Regina's blouse, which had already become wet with her tears.

She tried to stop crying ant to pull away, but she only managed the former mildly. Regina shushed at her and tightened her hold. And Zelena, over her fear, over her anger, and over her embarrassment, felt safe. She had not felt so safe since she was a little girl —like nothing in the world could hurt her while she had those arms around her.

* * *

A while later, Zelena had run out of tears at last —both sisters were still sitting on the bed, though. Regina's arms no longer had Zelena against her, but she had let one of her hands over one of Zelena's in the most casual way possible. Although they spent quite a long time in silence, Regina did not seem in a hurry to break it and go to bed. And so, the red-haired woman decided to gather up her courage and dare speak, even if she did so in a whisper.

"I think... It may have something to do with the day I tried to escape."

Her cheeks were burning for recognising another failure to Regina, but the brunette only hummed thoughtfully and started rubbing small circles on her hand.

"And why do you think that?"

"Because I— I tried to use magic focusing on my jealousy."

"But then, why does it start to show up now?"

"I don't know," replied Zelena curtly, letting out a frustrated sigh.

There was a small pause and she began to wish the other woman would drop the subject.

"Did something happen during that dinner?" Regina finally decided to ask, looking her in the eye.

Zelena looked away a second later.

"It wasn't your fault," she finally muttered. It was obvious she was not used to putting the blame away from Regina.

"What? What happened?"

There was a slight note of panic in Regina's voice and Zelena huffed, pulling her hand away.

"I just got jealous of you, again."

Regina huffed, too, and ran a hand across her hair. She looked like she was going to say something along the lines of 'There is nothing about me to be jealous of,' but thankfully, she thought better of it.

"Well, we'll figure something out," she settled on saying.

"Aren't you disgusted by it?" Zelena blurted out without thinking.

It had been out of bewilderment for Regina's easy reaction, but she regretted having asked right away. In the best-case scenario, the brunette would say 'no.' Even so, it would not dismiss the fact that she had done something worse than refusing the second chance she had been offered: she had failed to meet Regina's expectations —she had let her down. Zelena had admitted she was turning green because she had been feeling jealous again. She could not help it. She could not change and Regina was surely seeing that, too. Still, she truly wanted to understand what was going on inside the younger woman's head, for she took on Zelena's problems without a second thought.

She put a hand over her neck, covering the green patch. She was ashamed that her vulnerability was exposed to her sister's eyes in such an obvious way. However, Regina caught her hand quickly, and she made sure her fingers touched the green skin.

"No, of course not," she replied as she gave her a reassuring smile. "It's okay, we'll find a solution."

Tears welled up in her eyes again, because her sister looked more genuine than ever and because she was truly not planning to use the whole situation as an excuse to get rid of Zelena. She had the wild wish of wanting to confirm that she could continue living in the house, but luckily for her, she did not find the words to ask the question. She would probably have made a fool of herself trying to. Thus, instead of drying the still unshed tears, her hand found the hand that Regina had free as well, and she held onto it. The brunette gave her a little squeeze and it was all the reassurance she needed to tighten her grip on both hands. Truthfully, it was all the confirmation she needed.

"What do you want, Zelena? A family, love?" The redhead was too overwhelmed to answer, but Regina did not look like she was expecting her to, as she went on. "Redemption is not easy, but it's _possible_. It really is."

"I— I don't think I'll be able to." Tears were falling once again, but she was calmer that time. "I can't change."

She admitted it because, if Regina was truly taking her into her family, she needed to know. Zelena would not change, whether she tried or not. It was too late and they were both predisposed to disappointment if they let themselves believe otherwise.

"Listen to me. Please, Zelena, listen to me." Regina's voice snapped her out of her dark thoughts. The brunette waited until blue eyes met brown ones before going on. "Only you can stop yourself from changing, redeeming and being happy. I know it's hard to believe, but it's also true." Regina made a small pause, staring seriously into Zelena's eyes, as if to ensure she was listening closely. "If you think you were born to be the villain, you'll never try to play the hero. Don't limit yourself, sis."

Silence fell between them again. The ginger looked down at their intertwined hands, trying to process —to believe— everything the other woman had said. Then, she looked up at Regina, who offered her a somewhat shy smile. Zelena attempted to return it with one of her own, but she still felt her throat tight and the smile wavered. Biting back a sigh, she finally pulled her hands away and dried her face. A sudden gasp from the brunette made her stop, though. She barely had time to give her a questioning look before Regina was explaining herself.

"I think I just saw something that proves I'm right," she said, smiling from ear to ear. Zelena opened her mouth to ask what about, but her sister did not give her the chance. "You should look at yourself in the mirror."

Zelena opened her eyes wide and jumped off the bed. She hurried to the mirror over the chest of drawers. At the beginning, she saw nothing new. She did not think she would have any more tears to cry over another false expectation. She was ready to turn her back at it and demand an explanation when something caught her eye. Wasn't the green patch bigger before? She could swear it. Besides, it no longer reached her neck. She turned around to face Regina, who had come closer.

"Is it...?" She drifted off, afraid of even saying it.

"I saw it disappeared. Well, just a little. But that's good news, right?" the brunette asked, hopeful.

Zelena nodded, turning again towards the mirror. It certainly was. The green had just kept spreading those past days. The fact that now it started to fade away was indeed wonderful news.

Maybe things could really change.

"We should really go to sleep." Regina broke the silence after a minute of quiet contemplation. "Tomorrow's Sunday and I'd like to make Henry some treat for breakfast. What do you say about muffins?"

It was then when Zelena gave her the first real smile.

* * *

When the redhead came down the next morning, Henry and Regina were already in the kitchen. She stood at the door, not wanting to come in yet. She had had a moment of bravery earlier and she had put a normal t-shirt, so the green skin could easily be seen. She needed Regina to take a look at it, but she was not so sure she wanted Henry to see it, too. Swallowing, she offered them a nervous smile.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" she asked to Regina.

The brunette nodded and stood up. They did not go very far, so Zelena did not dare raise her voice above a whisper.

"Do you think it's even smaller this morning?"

She was blushing furiously. She felt too self-conscious looking for confirmation from her sister. Nevertheless, the other woman seemed to pay it no attention, instead focusing on the skin.

"I think so. Don't you?" she asked in return, looking up.

"I... Yes. I just wasn't sure."

Regina smiled softly, because she had understood the true meaning of her words: 'I'm having a hard time believing good things are actually happening to me.'

"Well, it's settled. Let's go to the kitchen. The muffins are almost ready."

She and Henry exchanged 'Good mornings' when she entered, but it was not until she sat at the table with her cup of tea that Henry saw the green skin.

"What's that? Are you sick?" he asked.

She took a sip and then, forced herself to look him in the eye before replying.

"No, I'm fine. It'll go away."

"Does it hurt?"

"No, it doesn't feel any special, to be honest."

"Oh. And when will it go away?"

"Eventually. We're not very sure," answered Zelena glancing up at Regina.

"So you won't be turning green?" the boy blurted out.

"Henry!" her mother scolded at once. "That's incredibly rude."

"Well, look who's talking," Zelena cut in, rolling her eyes.

She hid a smirk behind her teacup. It was a comfortable banter and no one seemed disappointed for the unexpected turn of the events. It truly felt as Zelena had imagined a home should feel. Perhaps fighting for belonging to the Mills family was worth it after all.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, this is the end —for now, of course. ;) Thanks so, so much to all those who have supported this story by following it, favouriting it or just reading it. Thanks to all those who have left a review to tell me what they thought of the story. And thanks to clearly-blue-eyed-witch, RoseRed (I love it when I get to surprise my readers!) and the guest for reviewing the previous chapter. Your comments encourage me to keep writing non-stop (unfortunately, university doesn't think that's such a good idea). I really hope you've liked the end and I look forward to knowing your opinions.**

 **I also hope you stick with me for the second part. I already have the first four chapters written and they are so much longer than these! I've reached 15.500 words. You see, I really can't control how long my chapters are. xD I'll try my best to have the story ready to publish in February, anyway. I'll update my profile here when I have news, but you can always send me a PM if you have any question. I also have an account on Tumblr under the same nick if you don't have an account here. =)**

 **That's all. I've truly loved sharing this story with all of you. Thank you for reading and don't forget to review!**


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